Twilight and her friends embark on a mission, one in which failure would result in an almost certain destruction for all of Equestria. The mission's difficulty only intensifies when their friendships are strained and their trust in each other put to the test. Surrounded by betrayal, mysteries and deception, the mane 6 must choose their allies wisely and find the true meaning to the Elements of Harmony ------------ Chapter arts made by Karmation
The cold night air was unforgiving on the ponies as they gathered on the ground, scattered. The only noise breaking the silence was Rainbow’s constant groaning and wincing, taking short breaths as the blood trickled down from under her left wing. Rainbow laid on her side on a thick piece of fabric laid down by Rarity, ensuring the cold ground does not reach Rainbow’s body.
Fluttershy sat beside Rainbow, her hooves trembling as she opened her pouch and took out a long piece of white bandage with her mouth. Her eyes welled up with tears when her eyes took in Rainbow’s condition. Rainbow’s signature bright blue coat had lost its color, it had become a much darker shade of blue, probably from all the days of travelling. The upper half of both of her wings had been scorched an almost charred black, forced to remain unfolded as attempting to fold them brought unbearable pain. Underneath Rainbow’s left wing was a huge wound, blood seeping forth from it, flowing down on to the purple fabric beneath. Her beautiful 6 colored mane and tail was no longer striking. Slowly the colors seem to turn greyer with each passing minute, seeping away from Rainbows fur.
“N-now this… this will hurt for just a moment…” Fluttershy reassured Rainbow, speaking through the white bandage in her mouth. Quickly she pressed the bandage on to Rainbow’s under-wing wound, a loud scream echoed through the night sky, startling Fluttershy. Fluttershy shut her eyes as tears started to well up in them, her ears falling close as the bandage started to dye a sickening dark red.
Beside her, Rarity sat against a tree, her white coat tainted with various bloodstains. She was unsure which bloodstain belonged to hers but she didn’t care. Her eyes shut tight as Rainbow released the bloodcurdling scream. She felt absolutely dreadful, her purple mane was messy and her tail unkempt. She couldn’t bear to open her eyes, seeing her friends hurt made it more painful to watch then when Sweetie Belle ruined her favorite dress. The thought of Sweetie Belle, alone in the boutique every night as her parents were out on holiday like they had been for the past few months, frightened her to the core. What if robbers broke in? What if she was kidnapped? Rarity opened her eyes once more, glancing at the pink pony slightly to her right, getting treated by Applejack.
“Hold still okay sugercube?” Applejack whispered to Pinkie Pie, her pink mane and tail had lost its puffiness, her eyes closed shut as Applejack brought a white cloth to her rear. The area around her tail had been scorched, burnt flesh and blood was easy to identify from the rest of her pink coat. Pinkie Pie winced a little as Applejack applied to cloth over the wound. “You’ll start to feel might better when the medicine starts workin. Now don’t ya be moving an inch until I say you can.”
“Thanks Applejack. I didn’t think being burnt would hurt so terribly-bebbily much!” A smile appeared on Pinkie’s face, shocking Applejack.
“Pinkie, how can ya be smiling at a time like this?” Applejack asked.
“Well, duhhh, everypony else is being mopey so I figured ‘Hey! Its already happened, so why don’t I smile and cheer everypony up!?’” Pinkie joyfully said, her hooves kicking around. “Besides, Twilight’s been the mopiess of us all…” Pinkie used her hoof to point to Twilight, who was lying on the ground, tears in her eyes. Twilight had small scorch marks all over her coat but nothing major, a little of her tail was also scorched off but that wasn’t what bothered her. Applejack slowly approached the purple mare.
“Heya Twi, you doing okay?” Applejack asked, concerned.
“No.” Twilight sobbed before continuing. “I never wanted any of you to end up like this, this was my task. I’m responsible.” Twilight closed her eyes as she spoke, tears flowing down her face.
Applejack rested her hoof on the sobbing mare’s back. “Now Twi, when we came with you we all knew the risks, ain’t no way should you feel sad about what has happened. We’all will get through this together Twilight…”
Twilight turned around to look at Applejack, the brown pony had a large cut along the right side of her face, dried blood covered the wound. Seeing this only tore another part of Twilight’s heart away. “AJ… your face.”
“Huh?” Applejack brought her hoof up and felt the dried blood. “Oh that? Its nothing Twi, it’ll heal back.”
“It’s…It’s not nothing! Applejack…” Twilight scanned her eyes over to the other ponies in front of her. Fluttershy tending to the heavily wounded Rainbow Dash, Rarity resting against a tree, napping and Pinkie Pie lying on the ground next to Rarity, humming her own little tune.
Fluttershy started to wrap Rainbow’s wing, with each round of tape wrapped around her wing, Rainbow would yell, louder each time. It started to break away at the already fragile Fluttershy, Rainbow was the bravest of them all, to see her defeated and in pain, the same pain she was causing to her best friend, it chipped away at Fluttershy’s heart.
“It… it hurts…” Rainbow muttered out, her eyes closed shut, small traces of blood dripping from her mouth. “It hurts so much. Just… just let me go… I can’t take this anymore.” Fluttershy finally broke at these words, releasing the bandage that was clutched in her mouth, her breath started to become shallow, tears streamed down her face like a waterfall. She went into a lying position, covered her ears with her hooves.
“I-I don’t want to do this anymore…I don’t want to hurt my friends… Please… Someone make this stop…” Fluttershy dug her face into the ground, clutching her ears tight. Rarity immediately rushed over, finishing up the healing job started by Fluttershy, however, Rainbow’s mane and tail was still losing its color, the indigo color on her tail and mane had almost vanished, the other colors were soon to follow.
“I…” Twilight whispered to herself. “We’re going home.” Twilight stood up immediately, leaving Applejack in shock, rooted to the ground.
“Come again, Twi? I thought I heard you say that you give up?” Applejack asked again, confirming her fears.
“That’s what I said. Look at us AJ, look at all of us. We’re tired, injured and one of us could very well die if we don’t get out of here.” Twilight lifted her bags onto her back.
“Twilight, you never give up!” Applejack shouted, hoping to coax Twilight out of this.
“Well, now I'm going to.” Twilight said immediately, her tone conveying how serious she was.
“Twilight, you mean to tell me we went through all of that just for you to walk out on us?” Applejack tried to look Twilight in the eye but she wouldn’t do the same.
“If we proceed any futher…” Twilight’s eyes started to tear again “…I… I just can’t see you guys like this.”
“Twilight, darling. When we said we were with you to the very end, we meant it.” Rarity spoke from beside Rainbow.
“Yup! And we aren’t going anywhere!” Pinkie yelled with a smile on her face.
“I never expected anything less from you guys, I know you guys will stick with me till the very end, that’s why I’m calling it now.” Fluttershy looked back up to see Twilight’s fierce expression. Twilight threw gazes at everypony’s eye. “This is the end.”
“Okay Mr Bunny, time to eat your vegetables.” Fluttershy leaned down, bowing her head to the small brown bunny in front of her, its big brown eyes staring back at Fluttershy as she nudged a small apple towards it. The bunny approached the apple and took a small bite, its face showing its delight in the taste of the apple. “That’s a good bunny.” Fluttershy whispered out.
Suddenly, Fluttershy heard loud knocks on her door, followed by shouting. “Fluttershy! You in here!? Come out!! Quickly!”
“Twilight? I’m coming…” Fluttershy walked slowly to the door, as soon as she turned the doorknob, the green door flew open, sending Fluttershy tumbling backwards.
“Fluttershy! I’m so sorry! This is urgent!” Twilight’s mane was a little messy, her face twisted in horror.
“W-what’s wrong!? Did someone get hurt? Oh please tell me everyone’s okay…” Twilight’s panic started to spread to Fluttershy, Fluttershy’s heart started to beat faster and faster.
“Everyone’s fine. Just come on!” Twilight grabbed Fluttershy’s hoof before dashing out of the door.
Fluttershy found herself inside Twilight’s library within a few minutes. Inside, all of her friends were present but what caught her eye was the long, light rainbow mane of the Alicorn standing in the middle of the room.
“P-princess Celestia?” Fluttershy was dragged next to Pinkie Pie, Twilight standing to her right.
“Ah good. As Fluttershy is here we can begin.” Princess Celestia stated in a kind voice.
“W-what’s the emergency?” Fluttershy asked
“Yeah! What gives? I was sleeping in my tree branch when Rarity just pulled me down!” Rainbow Dash yelled, her face showing her displeasure.
“I’m sorry for the sudden urgency everyone, but this is of utmost importance.” Celestia took a step back, turning to look outside the window. “We’re on the brink of war.”
“War!?” All the ponies shouted out in unison.
“But…but Equestria hasn’t had any wars since thousands of years ago.” Twilight shouted in disbelief.
“What in the hay could provoke Equestria to go to war!?” Applejack added.
“Dragons.” Celestia’s words left the ponies rooted to the ground, their mouths hung open.
“D-d-d-dragons!?” Fluttershy stuttered in fear, taking one shaky step back at a time. “As in large… fire breathing… huge scary dragons….dragons?” Fluttershy was no longer in control of her legs as they started to shiver violently.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” Celestia turned back, staring the shocked ponies in their faces.
“The griffins from The Griffin Kingdoms has started to question whether dragons should be allowed to roam free.” Celestia explained, nopony interrupted her, nopony dared to. “I have tried to explain to them that dragons pose no actual threat to us but they would not believe so.”
“Haven’t we always been on good terms with the Griffins?” Twilight asked, her eyes opened wides.
“Yeah! I had a griffin friend when I was young! They’re pretty cool!” Rainbow Dash added, proudly pointing to herself.
“Except for them being party poopers, Rainbow’s right! They aren’t half bad!” Pinkie said with a smile on her face.
“No, I’m afraid not. We have always been on shaky grounds with the griffins. They threaten to start a war with us if we do not comply with their demands.” Celestia said, sorrow in her voice.
“What could those ruffians possibly be demanding for!?” Rarity shouted out in anger.
“The Extinction of Dragons.”
“They…they can’t be seriously right? That’s completely unreasonable!” Applejack yelled, shaking her head.
“I’m afraid they are. Griffins and Dragons always had a tense relationship. Due to a recent attack on one of their small villages, I wouldn’t be surprised if the tension between them escalated but I never thought it would lead to war.” Celestia explained. Fluttershy slowly backed away from the group, though Celestia’s stare froze her on the spot.
“Then why are they threatenin us?” Applejack inquired.
“Because we are the closest state to them which has huge amount of dragons this time of year…” Celestia explained.
“So what do you want us to do about it?” Twilight asked, her hooves stepping in place.
“I need all 6 of you to go to The Griffin Kingdoms and talk to the ruler, hopefully convince him to stop this madness. He has given us two months before he declares war on Equestria.”
“Couldn’t you go?” Rarity was confused as to why they had to make this trip.
“I’m afraid its not that simple girls.” Twilight stepped forward beside the Princess. “The ruler of the Griffin Kingdoms does not want to negotiate with Celestia any longer, in fact he threatens to start the war immediately if Celestia were to start negotiations.” Twilight clarified for the rest of her friends.
“I’m afraid Twilight is right. That is why I need to send all of you to represent Equestria in our negotiations and I need to stay here to protect Equestria if things don’t go well.” Celestia let out a sigh before staring back out the window. “I pray it doesn’t have to come to that though.”
“But won’t Mr Meanie Pants start the war even if we go?” Pinkie Pie tilted her head sideways, her mane drooping down.
“He hates me, not Equestria. I’m sure that he is willing to take part in simple negotiations. I’m willing to bet there’s still reason behind his anger and I need you 6 to solve this problem. You 6 are the Elements of Harmony, which is still an old legend outside of Equestria.” Celestria closed her eyes. “I hope that clarifies any questions you have left.”
“J-just one left Princess…” Fluttershy muttered out, her back against a bookshelf. “W-what if the war does start?”
“I’m afraid I can’t answer that question… and I pray I never will.” The Princess turned around, staring the mane 6 in their eyes. “Now, please pack your bags, I have arranged for a carriage to take you to The Griffin Kingdoms, they will be leaving as soon as you are ready.” Twilight and her friends nodded in agreement before they left the library, everyone, except Twilight.
“Are you okay, Princess?” Twilight head was tilted a little to the left, her voice showed genuine concern.
“I’m fine. Please pack your bags.” Twilight nodded before running up a floor above. “You and your friends are our last hope…”
“So, is everypony packed and ready to go?” Twilight asked as she stood next to the carriage, staring at the ponies in front of her. “Wait a minute… One…Two…Three…Four… Where’s Fluttershy!?” Twilight shouted, the other ponies looked at each other and shrugged.
“I’m here!” Fluttershy’s voice echoed from the market which was just behind them. Fluttershy was trotting quickly, saddlesbags on her back. She quickly joined the others, trying to catch her breath. “I’m so sorry! Its just… my animals… I need to make sure they’re okay and…”
“Relax Fluttersehy, Spike will take care of your animals while you’re gone!” Twilight reassured Fluttershy but Fluttershy didn’t seem to be any less nervous.
“A-are you sure? What if we’re gone for too long? Can he really take care… I mean…” Fluttershy was getting more nervous the more she thought about it.
“Relax, Darling. The princess said that carriage should only take a day or two to reach Gryphus.” Rarity took a few steps forward to the carriage before boarding it.
“Ooo! Ooo! That’s the capital of the Griffin Kingdoms am I right?” Pinkie let out a small laughter. “That’s such a funny name…” Pinkie started bouncing towards the carriage, her bright pink mane bouncing up and down. “Gryphus, Gryphus, Gryphus!” Pinkie boarded the carriage with a huge smile.
“This is going to be so cool!!” Rainbow excitedly yelled. “Dragons, Griffins and the whole of Equestria counting on who? Me!” Rainbow’s right hoof was pointing to herself, her back straightened, a huge grin plastered on her face. As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw the other ponies staring at her, irritated. “I-I mean us! The whole of Equestria is depending on us!” Rainbow let out a nervous laughter before quickly boarding the carriage.
“I hope we don’t meet any d-d-d-dragons…” Fluttershy’s hooves started shaking as she bowed her head down in fear.
“Don’t worry, sugercube. We’ll be right here with ya!” Applejack gave Fluttershy a small huge before the both of them boarded the carriage.
“Okay, you girls have everything?” A resounding “Yes!” came as a reply. Twilight boarded the carriage next. “Now before we leave, remember, this must be handled carefully. The King isn’t up for much negotiations but if we can convince him that starting a war with Equestria won’t solve anything, then we can fix this crazy situation.” Twilight turned to the two stallions at the front of the carriage, dressed in grand and shining armor. “You may go, good sirs.”
“Yes Ma’m.” The stallions said in unison as they started trotting off along the path.
“So how exactly are we suppose to convince King…” Rarity tried to remember the king’s name, closing her eyes to force out the memory.
“Trela! King Trela!” Pinky Pie seemed to sing her words to Rarity.
“Yes, King Trela. How are we suppose to convince him to not go to war with Equestria?” The carriage had entered a small forest, trees surrounded the dirt road they were on.
“And if the Princess couldn’t convince him, how in the hay are we suppose to?” Applejack inquired.
“I…I don’t know…” Twilight replied, diverting her eyes away from the group. “but I’ll figure something out when we get there!” Twilight shouted, stomping her hoof on the wooden floor. “The whole of Equestria is depending on us!”
“No sweat! We represent the Elements of Harmony! There’s nothing we can’t do!” Rainbow Dash spoke arrogantly, her head resting on her hands. The other ponies remained silent, ignoring Rainbow’s comment.
---------- Night had fallen on to the group, the carriage had just entered the Griffin Kingdoms and all of the ponies had fallen asleep. All, that is, except for Twilight, who sat, gazing at the stars above her head, her mind lost in her own thoughts.
“Twi?” She heard Applejack’s voice calling from behind her. Turning around, she saw Applejack was in between Pinkie Pie and Rarity, her green eyes staring at her. “You all right? Ain’t you tired?”
“I’m fine AJ. I just can’t sleep, I mean, what if we fail? What if the war does happen? What’s going to happen to us? What’s going to happen to our friendship?” Twilight voiced the questions which plagued her mind.
“Now Twi, you can’t keep thinking about all them negative stuffs. We ain’t gonna know if we’re gonna fail or pass unless we try and no matter what happens, I promise ya that our friendship ain’t gonna change.” Applejack walked towards Twilight, giving her a hug. “We’ll always be friends, Twi. Ain’t nothing anypony can do to change that.”
“Thanks, AJ. I’m just so scared…” Twilight felt Applejack lighten the hug before she walked back to her seat.
“I understand, sugercube, but we’re all here, ain’t nothing to be scared ab-” Applejack was cut short from a sudden jump in the carriage. Yelling resonated through the sky, startling Twilight and Applejack. “What in tarnation!?”
“Girls! Girls, wake up!” Twilight yelled as loud as she could, scaring all the other ponies straight awake. Small projectiles started flying through the air, all aimed at the carriage.
“What’s-What’s going on!?” Rainbow asked, still rubbing her head from the sudden call. Just then, an arrow flew towards Rainbow. Stunned, Rainbow was unable to move out of the way, only barely dodging the arrow after being pulled down by Applejack.
“We’re being attacked!” Pinkie Pie shouted out in distress. The carriage had halted to a full stop, one of the stallions had already been hit and his lifeless body laid on the ground. Staring at it froze Twilight’s heart as the carriage continued to get bombarded with projectiles. Twilight turned around to see all the ponies hiding their heads, lowering their bodies as far as they could.
“Run milady! Run!” The only other stallion alive shouted, but his yells were cut short, only a scream followed his warnings.
“Girls! Get out, run now!” Each of the ponies bolted from the back of the carriage, their heart racing, their bodies filled with adrenaline. They sped to the nearest tree they could find, fear consumed them.
Nopony dared to say a word as they hid, soon the bombardment stopped, arrows were strewn all about the floor, road and in the carriage itself. They surely would have perished if they hadn’t acted fast. Silence filled the air for a short while before Twilight noticed an approaching beacon of light. Keeping her head down, she felt the quivering and whimpering of her friends behind her. She saw three silhouttes approach the carriage, inspecting the two dead stallions and the back. She saw their wings, long and white, covered with feathers and their feet were yellow claws, ending with razor sharp talons.
“Griffins!?” Twilight whispered to herself, forgetting she was not alone.
“What!?” Pinkie Pie shouted from the back. Applejack immediately stuffed her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth, stifling her shocked cries. Twilight examined them closely, two of the griffins had identical armor, both held bright lanterns in their mouths and they examined the carriage. The third griffin had a much more eye-catching armor, decorated with symbols of Gryphus. He stood tall and straight, his face was emotionless as he watched the two other griffins search, their armor sparkling in the dim lantern light.
“Found anything important!?” The tall griffin asked in a commanding voice. The other two griffins flew back quickly towards him, bowing down.
“I’m afraid not, sir. They seem to have gotten away.” One guard said in a nervous voice.
“What!? How is that possible!? They should be incapacitated at least!” Twilight felt dread fill her, she thought of the worst. Was he referring to them? “No matter, spread out and find them! They are definitely around here somewhere…” His voice trailed off as the two bowing griffins darted in opposite directions in the forest. As the scene cleared, the ponies came out, their faces twisted in horror at the things they had just heard.
“I-I-Incapacitated!?” Fluttershy asked, her whole body shivering violently.
“Who do those griffins think they are!?” Rainbow shouted out in anger. “I’m going to go there and show them a piece of my mind.” Rainbow tried to fly away but was held back by Applejack, Rainbow’s rainbow colored tail in her teeth.
“Now hold up there, Rainbow.” Applejack spoke through Rainbow’s tail in her teeth. “Only thing you’ll accomplish by doing that is getting yourself killed.”
Rainbow landed back down with her front hooves crossed as she sat on the ground. “Fine.”
“I thought we had clearance to enter this place!?” Rarity cried out.
“We do!” Twilight answered.
“Then why would they attack little old us!? Much less want us to be incapear-incapa-in-… hurt!” Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight for an answer but none came.
“So…what do we do now?” Fluttershy asked meekly.
Twilight closed her eyes, thinking over the choices she had, her friend eagerly awaited her decision.
“We walk to Gryphus.” Twilight said sternly, watching her friend’s shocked reactions.
“W-walk!? To Gryphus!?” Rarity shouted in disbelief.
“It’ll take days! Maybe even a week!” Rainbow shared Rarity’s complaints.
“We have no other choice. Going back to Ponyville would take too long, we’re already in the Griffin Kingdoms, we need to keep going. Equestria is depending on it!” Twilight said.
“Twilight’s right ya’ll. We ain’t got no time to go back to Ponyville. Our only choice is ta walk to Gryphus.” Applejack supported Twilight, walking beside her.
“What about food!? And water!?” Pinkie shouted out in despair.
“Don’t worry about that, I brought enough food to last all o’ us a few days.” Applejack said confidently.
“I brought some too…if all of you… want some…” Fluttershy turned her head away from the group.
“I always pack provisions for a trip! And fabrics!” Rarity proudly spoke, causing the other ponies to stare at her oddly. “What? It’s in case of emergencies…” Rarity’s voice became softer as she finished her sentence.
“Then we have no worries about surviving through the jungle, lets go.” Twilight immediately turned around and started to walk away.
“Wait! Jungle!? We aren’t taking the roads!?” Rarity asked, her mouth wide open.
“We can’t. If those griffins were looking for us, going by the roads will almost guarantee our capture…” Twilight gulped before continuing. “…and you heard what they plan to do with us…”
“I suppose you’re right…but the jungle is so, how do I put this nicely… icky!” Rarity’s face showed her disgust.
“I’m sorry Rarity but your mane isn’t as important as Equestia.” Applejack replied bluntly.
“No… you’re right, Applejack. Let’s get going.” Rarity nodded in agreement.
“Okay girls, stay close, we’ll try to go as fast as we can.” Twilight proceeded to trot through the jungle in front of her, the others following closely behind.
----------
An hour had since passed since the carriage attack. The moon had risen up to the middle of the sky. Twilight was at the front of the pack, pushing apart leaves and vines as a path for the other ponies to follow. Applejack was behind Twilight, every so often turning back to make sure the others were following as well. Rarity was trotting along, her eyes not focused on the path in front of her, instead watching her mane with each minute that passed by.
Pinkie bounced beside Rarity, telling the pearl white mare about her experience with “that time I misplaced the oven.” Pinkie chatted loudly, laughing to herself, a big grin plastered on to her face. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew slowly behind the others, a look of boredom shown on Rainbow’s face. Fluttershy was whispering to herself, questioning everything that could go wrong in the small cottage of hers.
“What if Spike forgets to feed the animals!?” Fluttershy drew a big gasp. “What if they starve!?”
“I don’t get why Fluttershy and I can’t just fly over the forest and scout out the area…” Rainbow Dash complained.
“If you take to the air, those griffins would spot you and hunt you down. We’re safer together.” Twilight explained as she continued to lead the group through the thick forest. Reaching a large clearing, Twilight turned around to the other ponies. “I think we should set up camp for the night, we need some rest.” The other ponies nodded in agreement.
“So… Twi, how exactly are we suppose to set up camp?” The other ponies eyes widened as they realized what Applejack said. “We ain’t got no camping equipment…” Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin, thinking of a solution.
“Rarity! Pass me one of your fabrics!” Twilight asked, a ‘Eureka!’ smile on her face.
“Twilight… you aren’t going to…” Rarity reeled back in disgust.
“I’m sorry, Rarity. We’ll get you new fabrics as soon as we get back to Ponyville but we need a shelter!” Twilight pleaded.
“Ugh… fine.” Rarity’s horn glowed a bright purple as she lifted a wide, rectangular piece of fabric out from one of her saddlebags and floated it to Twilight.
“Thank you.” Twilight quickly got to work to build a makeshift shelter, consisting of the fabric supported by four short but thick tree branches. “There. Now about fire…”
“Oo! Oo! I know! I know what will make fire!” Pinkie jumped up excitedly, reaching into her saddlebags, she pulled out several sparklers, bouncing towards Twilight
“Pinkie… you brought… sparklers?” Twilight twisted her face in disbelief.
“Well of course silly! What’s a party without sparklers?” Pinkie cheerfully laid the sparklers down on the ground before hopping around the nearby forest, gathering fallen tree branches and leaves, laying them down right beside the sparklers and in front of the shelter. Biting the non-chemical part of the sparklers, Pinkie drew them across the ground in one swift motion, causing the sparklers to release bright, firework-like effects from its tip. Pinkie quickly laid them down in the middle of the dry branches and leaves and almost immediately, a fire started to appear.
“Pinkie! You’re a genius!” Twilight shouted in elation.
“No, I’m a pony!” Pinkie replied, a ear-to-ear grin was sprawled on her face.
“Come on girls, lets get some warmth and grub in our bellies!” Applejack said as she made herself comfortable beside the fire.
----------
Fluttershy sat beside Rainbow, a soft smile on her face as she watched the other ponies quickly devour the hot vegetable soup placed in front of them.
“Fluttershy, this soup is simply delightful!” Rarity complimented her and quickly went back to slurping up some more soup.
“Yeah Fluttershy.” Applejack continued the compliments with a full mouth. Quickly swallowing the contents in her mouth, she continued. “This recipe is mighty tasty!”
Fluttershy’s cheeks started to grow bright red as she stared at the bowl in her own hooves. “It’s…It’s just a simple recipe…” Fluttershy gently lifted the bowl and sipped lightly from it. “I can teach the recipe, Applejack. If… if you want to know that is…” Fluttershy’s voice trailed away before she resumed taking sips from the bowl.
“That would be mighty kind of you Fluttershy. Thanks.” Applejack expressed her gratitude.
“Its no problem…” Fluttershy’s voice was barely audible, speaking with her head pointed downwards to the ground.
“Unlike somepony I know who couldn’t even cook an egg…” The rest of the ponies, except for Fluttershy, threw their gazes at Rainbow Dash, who had her face covered with the blue bowl. Noticing the sudden silence, Rainbow Dash slowly lowered her bowl, revealing the 4 pony’s angry gazes.
“Hey! I thought I explained it to you guys! The egg was stuck to the pan! I had to do something!” Rainbow Dash yelled defensively.
“Right… and I suppose getting the egg stuck on Applejack’s face was part of your plan?” Twilight asked, a smirk on her face.
“Okay,” Rainbow slammed her bowl down on to the ground, causing Fluttershy to let out a frightened squeak. “That was an accident! And I thought we promised we’d never mention that again!?” Rainbow stood up, flustered. Upon seeing Rainbow’s reaction, all the ponies laughed loudly around the campfire. Even Fluttershy couldn’t stop giggling at the sight of Rainbow’s frustration.
“Lighten up, dear.” Rarity managed to speak through her laughter. “Its all in the name of fun! We honestly didn’t think you’d be so worked up!” Rarity couldn’t contain her laughter any longer, chortling loudly.
Rainbow slumped back down on the ground. “Well… I mean… Its getting late. I’m gonna go to bed.” Rainbow made her way to the shelter, not giving the others a second look as she laid straight on the ground.
Managing to regain her composure, Twilight sat up straight, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Rainbow’s right. We’re gonna need all the energy we can get for the journey ahead.” Twilight stood up as she approached the small shelter. “Let’s all get some rest.”
----------
Rainbow opened her eyes as slowly as she could, as if she was afraid that opening her eyes too fast would wake the others. The snoring of ponies filled the usually still night air. Gradually, Rainbow sat up, trying to get her eyes adjusted to the darkness all around her. Soon, she could make out the outline of objects. The fireplace had since long died out somewhere in the middle of the night. To her right slept five ponies, all deep in their dreams. Fluttershy slept closest to her, her light pink mane drooping to the side of her face. Rainbow pushed herself lightly off the ground, walking stealthily away from the shelter. Gazing up into the night sky, she saw thousands of beautiful, sparkling stars hung amongst the purple backdrop and a lovely crescent moon. Turning back towards the sleeping ponies, her mind contemplated the decision she wanted to make.
“You’ll thank me later, guys.” Rainbow Dash whispered under her soft breath before spreading her wings, blowing a small gust all around her.
The gust of wind blew into Fluttershy’s face, causing her to scrunch up and wiggle her nose. Her eyes opened a sliver, expecting nothing more than a glance of Rainbow’s back. However, her eyes threw themselves open when she saw Rainbow, staring at the sky, her wings spread out wide.
‘Rainbow!?’ Fluttershy yelled in her mind. ‘This… this must be some kind of dream…’ Fluttershy shut her eyes tight for a few seconds before opening them again, just in time to see Rainbow take off. Fluttershy started to panic, trotting quickly to where Rainbow took off, she gazed at Rainbow, who had already flown pretty far away.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy shouted with restraint, not wanting to wake up the other ponies. “Rainbow!!” Fluttershy tried shouting louder but it was as good as a whisper. “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear….” Fluttershy immediately took off after Rainbow without a second thought, hoping to catch up with her best friend…
“Gryphus, Gryphus, Gryphus…” Rainbow chanted to herself as she flew around the night sky. Her eyes darted around wildly, hoping to catch any sign of the city they were supposed to find, but the only scenery around her were miles and miles of trees and several small temples dotted around the landscape. From the height Rainbow was at, the temples all looked the same, worn stone structures with large pyramid-like shapes ending in a wide flat top. “There’s no sign of Gryphus anywhere!!” Rainbow continued her flight, determined to find her destination before the night is over.
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Fluttershy could barely keep up with Rainbow, her yellow wings flapping frantically as she floated behind her in the dark skies of the forest.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy screamed as loud as she could but it merely ended in a barely audible whisper. “Rainbow! Slow down!” The loud wind blowing into her face and mane muffled all of Fluttershy’s cries. Her eyes tearing up slightly at the speed she was travelling at.
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Rainbow continued her relentless search, throwing her gaze around every inch of land she could see. “How can it be so hard to find a city with a giant castle as its monument!?” Rainbow yelled to herself in frustration. Suddenly, out of the corner of Rainbow’s eye, she saw a small silhouette flying out of the jungle, its wings spread out wide. “Oh no!” Rainbow darted as quickly as she could in the other direction, flying away from the mysterious figure, her heart racing fast. “Oh no oh no oh no oh no”
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Fluttershy was shocked at Rainbow’s sudden change of direction, her speed increasing to a pace Fluttershy could never match. Turning her eyes to her left, Fluttershy spotted a shrouded figure who seemed to be flying towards her.
“Eeep!” Fluttershy shouted in surprise, bolting directly back from where she came, her wings flapping as hard as she could but after almost an hour chasing the swift Rainbow Dash, her wings had begun to tire out significantly. Glancing behind her, she noticed that the mysterious shadow was no where to be found. Slowing down to a stop, she felt exhaustion and pain in her wings. Knowing she would never get back to camp in this condition, she let herself descend into the dark foliage below her…
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Rainbow continued to keep up her pace, adrenaline racing through her veins. Turning her head, she saw the dark figure not only keeping up with her rapid speed but gaining ground on her with every second.
“This is not good, this is not good!” Rainbow turned her head back to the front, watching the trees underneath her whiz past her in a blur. “Wait a minute… if I can’t outfly him…” Rainbow took a sharp turn downwards, speeding towards the ground. The figure mimicked this sudden change effortlessly, continuing his pursuit towards Rainbow. As soon as Rainbow smashed through the canopy of trees, she changed her angel again, this time doing another 90 degree turn, shooting through the forest. Rainbow swerved from one side to another, dodging the tree branches as best she could but at the speed she was flying at, hitting some of them was inevitable. One by one the branches grazed her, some were harmless, causing minor pain but others had started to cut her, causing blood to ooze from the wounds.
Rainbow’s concentration started to falter, her reaction started to slow down as a large tree branch smacked her right on her face. Rainbow let out a painful scream before falling on the floor, rolling along the harsh forest floor, adding bruises to her already bleeding body and eventually coming to a stop. Pushing herself off of the ground, she saw her body laced with small bruises and bloody wounds. Turning her head upwards, she saw the figure land beside her with a loud ‘thud’, spraying strong gusts of wind in every direction.
----------
Fluttershy was panting extremely hard, taking long, deep breaths. She felt as if her lungs were on fire, her wings were straining at the effort she exerted on them. Closing her eyes and licking her dry lips, her mind raced with thoughts of Rainbow’s safety.
“What if that… thing… went after Rainbow?” Her body tensed at the thought. “Oh my… I hope she’s okay…” Shaking her head, she remembered which of her friends she was talking about. “Fluttershy! This is Rainbow Dash you’re talking about! She’s sure to be okay… I hope…” Taking in one more deep breath, she prepared to take off into the skies to try to find Rainbow. However, as she spread her wings, she felt a piercing pain shoot through her body. Letting out a short startled yell, she folded her wings back and felt the sudden pain vanishing. “Look what you did to yourself Fluttershy. If anything happens to Rainbow…” Fluttershy quickly erased the thought from her mind before walking towards the direction she saw Rainbow Dash fly in.
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Rainbow could see clearly the enigmatic figure was a griffin, the outline of its sharp talons gleaming in the moonlight. She crawled slowly away from it, her heart pounding.
“W-w-who are you!?” Rainbow asked, trying to put up a strong front but the griffin didn’t answer, backing the hurt mare against a tree. “D-don’t you try anything! I’ll hurt you! Do-do you know who you’re messing with here!? I’m…”
“Rainbow Dash.” The griffin finally spoke, its voice deep, low and commanding. Stepping forward, Rainbow could see it covered in gleaming silver armor, the crest of Gryphus adorned all over it. A small brown satchel slung over the griffin’s shoulder and hung down to just above his claws. Rainbow recognized the griffin but she had more pressing matters at hand. How did this griffin know her name?
“O-okay so you do know. I’ll-I’ll still hurt you if I have to!” Rainbow stammered out her words.
“Hmph. Likewise. However, I have a message to you and your friends and I need to know where you ponies have set up your camp.” The griffin said with a stern tone.
“No way am I telling you where my friends are! I don’t even know you!” Rainbow replied, slightly aggravated at how direct he was.
“Oh, are you pretending to be strong? Then I suppose I’ll have to convince you…” Rainbow started to feel afraid of what he could have possibly meant. “I saw one of your friends chasing you in the skies just a few minutes ago.” The griffin circled around the tree Rainbow was backed up against, like a vulture hunting its prey.
“F-friend? No one was behind me!” Rainbow’s eyes were locked on to the moving griffin.
“Is that so? Then let me jot your memory.” His calm yet strict voice sent shivers down Rainbow’s spine. The griffin brought his face up to Rainbow’s, his warm breath on Rainbow’s nose. “She had a light pink mane, bright yellow coat.” As he finished his sentence, he reeled his head back and continued his predatory movement.
“Fluttershy…” Rainbow murmured, her stunned gaze locked on to the ground.
“Ah, so you do know her. Well, my scouts have already found where she landed. Would be a shame if something happened to…” The griffin was loudly interrupted by Rainbow.
“Don’t you dare lay a claw on her! She has nothing to do with this!” Rainbow yelled, her patience wearing thin. “Why do you wanna speak to my friends anyway?” Rainbow questioned, rage and concern filling her heart. Every small movement Rainbow made only brought pain to her, sapping more of her already low energy.
“I have a…personal… message to discuss with them.” The griffin stopped his circling, standing still in front of the bleeding pony, his heartless gaze set on Rainbow’s eyes. Rainbow felt uneasy at how the griffin emphasized ‘personal’ but returned the gaze, wanting to show no weakness. “So tell me where they are or your little yellow friend might not be too healthy the next time you see her…” The griffin let out a small laugh, bringing one of his talons to Rainbow’s chin. “…if you can crawl that far…”
Rainbow shivered in fear as she felt the cold, steel-like talon touch her chin, her strong front had been destroyed. She could feel the razor-sharp tip on her skin, nervous, she blurted out. “I’m…” Rainbow’s mind was a mess, she didn’t know whether to save Fluttershy or risk having her friends hunted down. She wasn’t even sure if her safety was guaranteed if she told the truth. “No.” Rainbow gave a short answer, not taking her gaze off the griffin’s for even a second. Rainbow steeled herself at how the griffin would react.
The griffin stared at Rainbow’s fearful eyes, sweat dripping down from her forehead. “I guess you really do represent loyalty. Hmph. How foolish.”
“Huh!?” Rainbow shouted in shock. She was now truly filled with fright. The griffin’s brown eyes widened when he realized what he had just said.
“Oops. Looks like I’ve said too much.” The griffin dived straight towards Rainbow, catching Rainbow completely off-guard, his claw gripping tightly over Rainbow’s throat, his talons embedded into the tree trunk behind her. Rainbow felt light-headed as the claw around her throat tightened even harder. She tried desperately to use her hooves to remove the claw but it was to no avail, the griffin’s strength was too much for Rainbow. The griffin’s eyes widened once more as he continued his relentless gaze into Rainbow’s own, bright purple eyes. “I just had a grand idea. Your friends would find me as long as I have you, wouldn’t they?” The griffin let out a sinister laughter, staring at Rainbow, whose frantic actions had started to slow down, almost to a lifeless halt. The griffin released his grip on Rainbow, letting her fall to the base of the tree, painfully coughing as she gasped fiercely for air.
“And the best part? My scouts don’t have to hurt that yellow mare…” Rainbow’s heart sank when she heard those words. Tears were at the edge of her eyelids as she thought of Fluttershy, alone, helpless, unaware she could be attacked at any moment. “because you will.” The griffin stated coldly. Rainbow shot a wide, alarming stare at her assailant.
“I’ll never do anything like that!” Rainbow cried out. “Torture me all you want, I don’t care what you do to me!” Rainbow returned the griffin’s cruel gaze. “I’ll never hurt my friends.” Rainbow wanted to jump up and kill the griffin in front of her but she could barely find the strength to move. The griffin marched up to the exasperated pony. He could see that she was in pain, even if Rainbow wasn’t showing it.
“I wasn’t giving you a choice.” In one swift motion, the griffin reached into the satchel and stuck something deep into Rainbow’s neck. Rainbow let out a chilling scream of agony. Waves after waves of torturous pain radiated through her body, from her head down to her tail. Her vision quickly started to blur, her energy quickly drained. Finding the last of her strength, she pulled out whatever was lodged in her neck, throwing it down to the floor. She could barely make out the outline of a small syringe, now empty except for a few drops of green liquid. Whatever was in the syringe was in her now. Rainbow continued shrieking, contorting in agony on the floor. Anger filled her mind and heart, thoughts of violence, death, rage and grief poured into her. Without warning, the screaming stopped, Rainbow’s stagnant body laid under the tree. Her cyan coat dotted with lines of crimson blood from the tree branch cuts. There was now a small circular wound on her neck where the syringe was sunk in, droplets of blood flowing down, coloring her fur.
The night air went still again as the griffin stood over Rainbow. Rainbow lifted herself off from the cold floor, staring straight at the creature in front of her. She felt no more pain from the wounds on her body, she merely felt an urge, an urge to cause grief, an urge to kill.
“Rainbow Dash. How are you feeling?” The griffin asked.
“Angry.” Rainbow Dash replied with clenched teeth. A sly smile appeared on the griffin’s mouth.
“Good. Now about your friends…” The griffin didn’t even finish his question when Rainbow interrupted him.
“Friends? Pfft, I have no friends. Do you want to know where they are right now? We could jump and kill them all, Mr …” Rainbow stopped her sentence, realizing she did not know how to address him.
“Most call me General but you may call me, Master. And no, I have no interest in knowing where they are now. They will find us soon enough.” The griffin walked behind Rainbow, Rainbow’s eyes were locked in front of her, scanning the forest in front of her.
“Yes, Master.” Rainbow replied impatiently. Her back was arched forward, looking as if she was ready to pounce on anyone who crossed her path.
“I see you’re just itching to get started aren’t you?” No reply came from Rainbow, whose breathing had begun to get heavier and louder. “Do you remember your yellow friend?”
“Fluttershy. The worst of them all. She’s always been nothing but an obstacle for me since I was a filly.” Rainbow replied in a resentful tone.
“And how would you like to see her?” The griffin asked. His smile had slowly transformed into a large grin as he already knew the answer.
Rainbow Dash replied in a ruthless, sadistic voice. “Dead.”
Twilight stretched her hooves as hard as she could, her mouth opening into a yawn and her eyes fluttering awake. As she stood up, she could see that the sky in front of her was still pitch black with stars hanging like diamonds and the moon bathing the campsite in a soft white light.
“Great… the one time I don’t want to wake up early…” Twilight stood up, her head still in a daze. Turning to her left, she saw that Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were still sound asleep. However, she immediately realized somepony, or to be accurate two ponies, were missing. Her heart sank as the thought finally crossed her mind. “F-Fluttershy!? Rainbow!?” Twilight’s eyes widened, reaching down, she frantically shook the other ponies awake. “Girls! Wake up!”
Applejack got up without question, looking as if she was wide awake. Pinkie Pie rubbed her eyes, slowly pushing herself up from the ground with a yawn. Rarity, on the other hand, didn’t even move, the soft pink eye-blinds blocked any vision she might have of the other ponies.
“Just five more minutes mother!” Rarity lazily whined before rolling to her right, banging into Applejack.
“Rarity! Wake up! This is serious!” Twilight nervously shouted, forcing Rarity to take off her blinds. Applejack glanced around to see what the problem was, gazing at the large empty spot beside Pinkie Pie, she finally realized what the problem was.
“W-Where’s Rainbow!?” Applejack ran towards where Rainbow would be sleeping, only to find a bare patch of dirt.
“And Fluttershy!?” Pinkie exclaimed, frantically darting her eyes around the campsite.
“Oh dear…” Rarity finally understood how serious the situation was.
“Girls! Spread out! Look for clues! We need to know what happe-” Twilight couldn’t finish her frenzied sentence before Applejack interrupted.
“Ah think Ah might have just found a clue, ya’ll” Applejack reached her hoof down, picking up a small blue feather just meters away from the shelter.
“I think I might have found another one…” Pinkie reached down, near where Applejack picked up the blue feather, pulling out from the dirt a smooth, yellow feather. Rarity and Twilight immediately ran towards the two Earth ponies, whose eyes were wide with fear.
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Fluttershy continued to keep up her pace. She had no idea where she was headed or even if she was headed in the right direction but the thought of Rainbow, hurt and at the mercy of the mysterious figure, was more than enough motivation for her. Trotting into a wide open field, Fluttershy caught the faint sound of rustling bushes and snapping branches. Turning around, she glanced at the trees around her, the night drenching the area around her in darkness.
“W-Whose there!?” Fluttershy called out but there was no reply. Once again, another series of rustling and snapping echoed throughout the forest.
“P-Please don’t hurt me!” Fluttershy started trembling, her eyes trying to get a glimpse of whatever was around her. “I-I’m just looking for a friend!” Fluttershy pleaded to the unknown creature.
“You mean me?” Fluttershy spun around, staring at the mare in front of her. At first, the mare looked like a stranger, dressed in a black uniform which only left space for her muzzle and wings. The uniform had two bright yellow eye-sockets and yellow thunderbolts adorned the hooves and the flank of the suit. After examining the six-colored mane and tail the pony sported, Fluttershy finally made the connection.
“R-Rainbow!?” Fluttershy stuttered out in shock and fear. Slowly she recognized the uniform from when they first ventured into the Everfree forest to find the Elements of Harmony. It was a Shadowbolt uniform. Her head filled with questions and doubts.
Rainbow followed Fluttershy’s startling revelation with a laugh. “Took you long enough. You were always the slow one.” Rainbow didn’t stutter on her insult. Fluttershy took a step backwards, her mouth hung open. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“R-Rainbow…why are you-” Fluttershy’s question was rudely cut short by Rainbow.
“Man, you’re so useless Fluttershy.” The words stung Fluttershy’s heart as they crossed her ears. Rainbow started flapping her wings, floating up to a small cloud hanging above. “You just can’t figure things out for yourself can you? You always depend on others to tell you what’s going on.” Fluttershy bit her lip, tears at the edge of her eyes.
“C-come back with me, Rainbow! I’m sure everyone is worried sick!” Fluttershy desperately pleaded but Rainbow merely scorned at the begging yellow mare.
“Worried? Do you really think they care!?” Before Fluttershy could answer, Rainbow continued. “I still remember what happened at the campfire just a few hours ago! You laughed at me! All of them laughed at me and you stood with them! My former best friend…” Guilt crept up on Fluttershy, infecting her slowly. The word ‘former’ struck a weak point with her, she didn’t want to lose Rainbow. Rainbow meant the world to her.
“We didn’t mean it R-Rainbow! Please! Stop this!” Fluttershy continued to beg, her legs trembling immensely, hoping she could get through to whatever was causing Rainbow to behave the way she was. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I don’t want to lose you…”
“Hmph. You already have you useless little mare.”
Rainbow’s words were cold, said without remorse. “R-Rainbow…w-what’s gotten into you?” Fluttershy asked with a soft voice.
“I just saw the truth, that’s all!” Rainbow replied swiftly, her eyes gazing straight at the frightened butter-colored pony below her.
“T-Truth?” Fluttershy was almost too worried to ask, gazing up at the smiling Pegasus on the cloud.
“Easy. You were holding me back. You and your stupid friends always were.” Rainbow’s words and tone sliced a gash into Fluttershy’s defenses, each word bringing Fluttershy closer to tears. This wasn’t her best friend that was standing before her.
“B-but you were the pony that s-saved me…” Memories of her first day in Flight School crossed her mind. She remembered the day she got bullied, close to getting beaten up but a certain Rainbow mare stopped them and even since then, she and Rainbow had become inseparable.
“Yeah. And that’s when my life went downhill.” Fluttershy lowered her head, cowering in fear at the barrage of insults that were sure to follow. “I could have been so much greater than what I am now! The fame! I could have been part of the Wonderbolts! I could have fans now!” Rainbow sped down in an instant towards Fluttershy, startling her. Making sure to stare Fluttershy straight in her large, aqua eyes, Rainbow spoke. “I could have all of that if I didn’t stand. Up. For. You.”
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“Oh no… this is bad, this is bad, this is bad!!” Twilight repeated the phrase continuously like a chant, her face flushed with fear.
“Where on Earth could those two possibly have gone?” Rarity asked, taking the bright blue feather away from Applejack.
“I don’t know but we need to find them! Girls, pack your things quickly. We’re going.” Applejack slid the cyan feather into her saddlebag and Pinkie slid Fluttershy’s feather into hers. The ponies wasted no time, quickly gathering their belongings and sped through the dark forest ahead…
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Rainbow’s angered face was just inches away from the trembling Fluttershy. Fluttershy could feel that this Rainbow Dash meant every word she had said. Tears were now clearly visible on Fluttershy’s eyes, flowing down to her cheeks. Her lips were trembling and her hooves buckled tightly, paralyzing her in fear and sadness.
‘Was it all true? Would she be better off without me?’ Fluttershy thought to herself. Seeing Fluttershy’s tears, Rainbow released a heartless laughter.
“You’re so pathetic Fluttershy!” Rainbow flew back on to the cloud, leaving the distraught Fluttershy to stare at her like she was a stranger. “Or should I say, Fluttercry?” Fluttershy’s eyes closed shut when she heard that word. The name brought back memories of pain and misery for the three years she was in Flight School. She buried her face in her hooves as the floodgates opened, her tears pouring out onto her yellow coat.
Rainbow continued laughing as Fluttershy cried, feeding off the sadness she was emitting. Fluttershy’s memories of the most traumatic years of her life started to flow back into her mind, only opening wounds better left closed. She tried her best to repress the thoughts flooding into her head but it only resulted in ragged breath with gasps of air inbetween.
“Still as weak and useless as I remember.” Rainbow heartlessly remarked.
“W-Who did this to you!?” Fluttershy’s tear-filled eyes staring at the pony above her.
“Again with the questions? I thought making you cry would shut you up!” Rainbow flew high into the sky. “You see that building over there?” Rainbow pointed her hoof to a large, green structure in the distance. It was one that had been dotted around the landscape. It was tall and had a wide, flat top. “If you can reach that place with your embarrassing strength then we’ll answer all your questions.”
“W-We?” Fluttershy managed to force out in between her sobs.
“Another question. See you later, Fluttercry.” Rainbow sped off, leaving behind a large Rainbow trail. Fluttershy’s sadness soon turned into rage. Anger clouded her mind and eyes. She wanted to chase Rainbow but the piercing pain when she tried to spread her wings reminded her that that wasn’t an option. Wiping the tears that had fallen off her face, she gritted her teeth and marched onwards towards the structure. As she took her first steps, the morning sun started to rise over the horizon…
Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie continued with their trek through the forest, each of their eyes scanning every part of the forest near them.
“Oooo I hope they’re okay!” Pinkie said with a worried face, walking instead of hopping behind the other ponies.
“Ah hope Rainbows’ not mad for what we did to her last night…” Applejack stated, her mind replaying the memory of Rainbow’s flustered look as they laughed around the campfire.
“I doubt Rainbow’s the type to hold a grudge!” Rarity dismissed Applejack’s theory almost immediately. “Plus she knew we were joking!” A long pause ensured as Rarity’s mind also played back the memory of the jokes they made. With each pass, the theory seemed more and more plausible. “…Right?”
“Girls, it doesn’t matter why she ran! We just need to find her!” Twilight tried to push away the idea of Rainbow being angry at them.
“Fluttershy should have woken us up!” Pinkie shouted.
“Ah don’t blame Fluttershy. Even if she did wake us up there ain’t nothing we could’ve done about it. She’s the only other pony with wings…” Applejack admitted with regret.
Pinkie stared at the ground she was walking on, her mind took her over mouth as she muttered to herself, “Flutters… please be okay…” The others ponies stopped and stared at Pinkie with confused looks on their faces. “Huh? Why did we stop? Is there a surprise?” Pinkie snapped back to her cheerful self for a moment, a grin on her face.
“Umm…Darling. Did you call Fluttershy…Flutters?” Rarity asked
“Huh?” Finally the realization hit Pinkie. “Oh did I say that out loud?” Pinkie reeled her head back, her cheeks turning red. “It’s just a nickname we came up with one day while we were hanging out, that’s all…” Pinkie didn’t dare make eye contact with the other ponies. The other ponies shrugged as they trotted on.
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Fluttershy’s hooves were getting tired from the hours of walking. Her vision would blur out every now and again and she had to constantly force her eyes open when they tried to flutter close. The lack of food, sleep and water had drained her of most of her energy. Gazing upwards, she saw that the sun was now at its peak, drenching the ground in scorching hot rays. Sweat continuously poured down from Fluttershy’s brow as she kept trotting, her mind only focused on rescuing Rainbow from what she has become. Looking straight ahead, she saw that the towering structure was still a small distance away…
----------
The burning heat slowed the ponies to a crawl. All of them hung their heads low in exhaustion as they started to trot along at a snail’s pace. Twilight lead the others, each step accompanied with a pant. Her purple mane had started to become frazzled as her parched throat ached for water. Rarity followed closely behind, every now and again blowing her falling mane back on to her head. She tried to distract herself with the scenery around her but to no avail, her mind would always remind her of the pain that was in her hooves.
Pinkie Pie and Applejack walked together, they didn’t acknowledge the exhaustion they felt, only trying to things that would qualm their worries for the missing mares. However, the more they thought about the situation, the more hopeless it seemed.
“We ain’t never gonna find them…” Applejack finally broke the silence.
“Don’t say that,” Twilight panted. “We’ll find them and they’ll be fine.”
“Twilight’s right, Applejack. We will find Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash!” Rarity added but Applejack simply sighed as she continued walking. All of a sudden, Twilight stopped. Rarity, not noticing the sudden halt, banged into her. “Terribly sorry Twilight.” Rarity apologized immediately.
“What’s the hold up!?” Pinkie shouted from the back of the pack before rushing forward with Applejack.
Twilight could only manage a “Whoa…” as she gazed upon the sight in front of her. A huge path of trees with snapped branches laid in front of her. The dirt ground had a noticeable depression which stretched all the way from the broken branches to a tree further ahead.
“It looks something ripped through this part of the forest…” Twilight stated as she took the first steps towards the tree the dirt was leading to, the others followed closely behind. Glancing their eyes on the various broken branches which hung from the trees, Twilight spotted something off hanging off them. Twilight took a few steps up to one of the snapped branches and upon closer inspection, sees a small tuff of cyan fur.
“What in Equestria…?” Twilight was stunned at her discovery. Reaching her hoof to the small piece of fur, she managed to free it from the branch’s sharp grasp. Suddenly, she realized the shade of blue anywhere. She immediately dropped the tuff of fur onto the dirt ground, backing away slowly. “Oh no…”
Twilight turned around and saw Applejack and Pinkie Pie staring at her with blank looks on their faces. “G-Girls… I…I think I know what happened to Rainbow Dash.”
Rarity nudged Twilight’s right flank, causing her to turn to face the white mare. “What is it Rarity?” “Y-You might want to see what I found…” Rarity lifted her right hoof, showing a small, thicker weave of fur that had a myriad of colors on it. Twilight’s heart sank when she saw what Rarity was holding.
“W-Where’d you get that?” The purple pony was almost too afraid to ask that question. Rarity pointed towards the tree the depression ended at and without skipping a beat, Twilight dashed towards the tree at full speed.
“Someone mind telling us what in tarnation’s going on?” Applejack angrily demanded.
“Rainbow Dash… she’s the one that did all of this.” Rarity lifted her hoof, pointing at the various broken branches, the indentation in the dirt and then passing the tuff of multi-colored fur to Applejack.
“R-Rainbow…” Applejack mumbled to herself, feeling the familiar texture of the hair she held in her hooves.
“Girls! Come over here!” Twilight shouted from the base of the tree and immediately, the other 3 ponies ran straight towards Twilight. As they approached the tree, the scene got worst and worst. They could clearly make out a large amount of blood on the tree trunk which Twilight was inspecting.
“What is it Twilight!?” Pinkie shouted in distress.
“Well, we know this whole thing was caused by Rainbow…” Twilight stated, turning her face back towards the girls. “I can’t tell who the blood on the tree trunk belongs to but…” Twilight gulped. “…it…doesn’t look good.”
Applejack wanted to burst out into tears. She shook her hand, chanting “No…” to herself multiple times. ‘Please Rainbow. You gotta be okay.’ Her mind didn’t want to accept anything the evidence around her showed, she rejected all the theories thrown at her and pushed away anything which involved Rainbow hurt.
“Then where’s Rainbow? If this is truly her blood she couldn’t have gotten far.” Rarity asked but Twilight answered with a puzzled look, closing her eyes to try to think of where the six-colored mare might be but there was no answer.
“I-I don’t know…” Twilight admitted in shame, bowing her head down.
“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie shouted a short distance to the left of the purple mare. “I found something!” Pinkie picked up a small syringe, flipping it over so that the needle was facing downwards. She squinted her eyes, noticing a small green drop at the tip. Pinkie stuck her tongue out, ready to catch the drop for a little taste but Twilight pulled her back swiftly, causing the syringe to once again fall to the floor. “Hey!” Pinkie yelled in surprise.
“Pinkie are you crazy!? We don’t even know what that stuff does!” Twilight screamed, flustered.
“Well what better way to test something then to taste it?” Pinkie argued with a smile on her face. Twilight felt strangely comforted to see that the pink mare hadn’t lost all of her enthusiasm.
“Darling, Twilight’s right.” Rarity paced towards the syringe, picking it up. “We don’t know what filthy substance is in this. Why, it could be poison for all we know.” She handed the syringe to Twilight, who levitated it in front of her eyes.
“Whatever was in the syringe is gone now…” Twilight inspected every inch of the glass container. “There’s blood on the needle. Which means…”
“The green thing in that syringe is in…” Rarity didn’t dare finish her sentence.
“Oo! Oo!” Pinkie bounced up happily. “That means that the liquid is probably in Rainbow! Right?” Applejack buried her head in her hooves, pressing tightly against her ears. She wanted to drown out the very thought of such a thing happening to her best friend. Anger boiled within her as she tried to suppress her reaction to Pinkie’s enthusiasm as she said those words.
Twilight and Rarity bit their bottom lip, not wanting to acknowledge what Pinkie had just said. They closed their eyes, fear rising at the thought of where Rainbow might be.
“Maybe she’s taken captive?” Pinkie stopped bouncing after looking at the other ponies depressed expressions. “What is she’s-”
“Enough!” Applejack stood up, she could contain her rage no longer. “Pinkie Pie! Would you just shut ya yapper!? Ain’t nothing bad happening to Rainbow and you’d be there just spouting lies!” Rarity and Twilight stared at the orange earth pony as she approached the pink mare, her face flushed with anger.
Pinkie Pie cowered in fear, taking a step back for each word Applejack yelled at her. “I’m-I’m sorry Applejack. I didn’t-”
“You got some nerve! Cursing Rainbow like that with a smile!” Applejack took step after step, driving Pinkie Pie, and her flat mane, further and further away. “What’d you think? That ah don’t know what all these here evidences show!? Huh Pinkie!? Ah know this ain’t looking good for Rainbow but you ain’t gotta list down all them possibilities now do ya!?”
“A-Applejack…I’m…” Pinkie could feel tears welling up within her. The fear of losing one of her best friends seemed like such a possibility, it frightened her more than she’d ever been in her life.
“How would you like it if ah said something about Fluttershy huh?” Applejack threatened, finally backing Pinkie Pie towards the same bloodied tree trunk.
“P-Please stop! Don’t! Please!” Pinkie begged, tears streaming down from her face.
“Well, ah hope Fluttershy’s hurt!” Applejack angrily yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice reaching its maximum volume. Rarity and Twilight watched in horror from the side, their hooves bound tightly to the dirt floor. Pinkie grasped her ears, trying to drown out the horrible thoughts of Fluttershy which crossed her mind. “Ah bet she’s alone!” Pinkie couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, each sob she made only forced out more from her eyes. She tried to shut her eyes to deny the memories a chance to be played in her mind but they forced their way through.
“Ah bet she’s hurt, alone and cold in some place and wishing you’d be there for her!” Pinkie couldn’t listen anymore. She curled up into a tight ball at the foot of the tree, burying her head with her hooves as endless streams of tears flowed down her face.
There was only the sound of Pinkie’s loud, hurt sobbing. Twilight and Rarity finally managed to get control back in their hooves as they ran towards the pair of ponies. Rarity tended to the destroyed Pinkie Pie while Twilight ran towards Applejack. The southern mare stared at the pony she had just devastated. Her nostrils flaring and her eyes opened wide in anger. Finally, her mind started to catch up to what she had just said, what she had just did. Her eyes softened as her mouth dropped open.
“P-Pinkie…Ah…Ah’m sorry… Ah didn’t…” Applejack couldn’t find the words to say sorry to the pink mare whose mane was completely flat and each sob she made felt like a knife through Applejack’s heart. Pinkie didn’t seem to respond to Applejack’s apologies, continuing her release of her fear and sadness.
Applejack tried to take a step forward but was immediately tugged in the opposite direction. She didn’t resist the sudden pull, she knew it was for her own good. Twilight dragged Applejack quite a distance away, until they were alone and the sobs of Pinkie could no longer be heard.
Rarity approached the broken mare with silent steps. She was worried that any sound would damage her even more. Lying down as slowly as she could, she inched her way towards Pinkie.
---------
“Applejack! W-Why!?” Twilight was at a loss for words, yelling loudly at the pony in front of her. Applejack laid down on the grass, covering her eyes with her hooves.
“Ah-Ah was mad!” Applejack shouted back through broken breaths.
“That’s no reason to say such things to Fluttershy or break Pinkie like that!” Twilight screamed in anger towards Applejack. “Fluttershy means a lot to her and you knew that!!”
“Ah know!” Applejack sobbed, small tears falling down her cheeks. “Ah just… Ah let my anger take control of me! Ah’m mighty sorry!” Applejack threw her head upwards, grass stuck to her cheeks as she gazed at the purple pony who didn’t even make eye contact with her.
“I know you are and I accept your apology. The question is…” Twilight walked towards the entrance of the small clearing, turning back to look at Applejack. “Will Pinkie?” Twilight turned around and walked out of the clearing. She knew if she’d stayed there any longer she would scold her without restraint. ‘She needs some time to think…’
Applejack now felt truly alone. There were no noises, no wind, no chirping. It was completely and utter silence. The more Applejack pondered on what she did, the more she wanted it to be a dream. Just a bad dream she could wake up from. Rainbow and Fluttershy were missing and she could have just ruined the years of friendship she built with Pinkie. She shut her eyes softly, thinking hard about what she could do, what she would say
----------
“AJ didn’t mean the things she said to you.” Rarity tried to reassure Pinkie but the tears didn’t stop. “Pinkie, darling…” Rarity moved closer to the pink mare, putting her hoof around Pinkie. “I’m here for you.” Her words seem to finally get through to the torn mare. Taking a deep breath, Pinkie lifted her head, staring at the warm smile on Rarity’s face.
“T-Thanks…” Pinkie sobbed as she laid her head on her hooves, staring at the grass she was laying on. “But…I’m still scared. What is Applejack was right? What if Fluttershy’s somewhere, alone, hurt. If someone did those things to Rainbow who knows what might happen to Flutters-”
“Stop right there Pinkie! We don’t know where Fluttershy is! She could be fine and she probably is, darling!” Rarity comforted Pinkie, the warm smile never fading from her face. Pinkie giggled softly, almost as if she was embarrassed to do so.
“T-Thank you Rarity…” Pinkie’s smile quickly vanished as she went back into her quiet state.
“How’s she doing?” Twilight’s voice echoed from behind Rarity. Turning around, she saw the familiar purple pony standing behind her, a soft smile on her face.
“I left her alone to think about what to do.” Twilight explained.
“Are you sure that’s such a good idea? I mean, what if she runs away?”
“She won’t. I trust her. I think she’s just confused on what she’s just done.” “Ya right, Twilight.” Applejack’s voice startled Twilight from behind her. “But…Ah’m ready now.”
“So…So quickly? Are you sure AJ?” Twilight asked, afraid.
“As sure as ah’ll ever be.”
Rarity turned her attention to the silent pink pony who heard everything.
“Pinkie, darling.” Rarity whispered. “Are you ready to hear what Applejack has to say?”
Pinkie shut her eyes closed but replied with a slow nod. Rarity reached her hoof downwards for Pinkie to grasp on to, pulling her up on her own four hooves. With trembling legs, she turned around and walked towards the orange mare in the strawhat.
“Hi Pinkie.” Applejack said but the pony gave no reply. “Look, ah’m mighty sorry for what ah said. Ah didn’t mean any of the things ah shouted. Ah don’t know if you can forgive me now but ah just want you to know, Pinkie, that no matter what, ah’ll still be your friend.” Pinkie didn’t reply, instead her eyes went straight to the ground. Applejack stood there in silence, nervously waiting a response.
“I’m sorry AJ…I just… I can’t forgive you… Not now.” Pinkie’s words stung each pony hard. Twilight and Rarity had their mouths wide open when they heard what Pinkie said but Applejack stood there, a disappointed look on her face. Applejack knew she couldn’t push this any further, unsure of what to say next.
“Ah’m…It’s all right Pinkie. Ah understand. Ah’ll do whatever I have to to earn back your trust again.” Applejack tried to take a step forward to console her former best friend but Pinkie similarly took a step back, her frightened eyes gazing into the bright emerald eyes of Applejack. The blonde mane pony retreated her step forward after seeing how Pinkie reacted.
“Come on girls, we got two ponies to find.” Twilight quickly changed the subject, dragging Applejack a few steps back. “Let’s go. I’ll walk with you.” Twilight whispered into Applejack’s ear as they turned around and trotted away.
Rarity slid her hoof around Pinkie, who was rooted to the ground she stood on. “I’m here Pinkie. Let’s go.” Together, they walked slightly behind the purple and orange pony. The four friends had disbanded into two separate groups as clouds gathered overhead, darkening the bright noon sun and casting a dark shadow on to the whole forest.
----------
Finally Fluttershy reached the base of the structure. It had taken most of the day and she frankly couldn’t tell how long she had been trekking. Dark clouds had blocked out the sun completely, drenching the world in a looming darkness. As she ascended the extremely high stairway, she could feel her energy had reached almost at its minimum. Hunger and thirst were the only thoughts in her mind. Her knees ached and her wings hadn’t faired much better for many times she tried to fly but the pain destroyed any hope of taking to the air. Her vision was blurred and her mind couldn’t catch up to the actions her body took. Reaching the top, Fluttershy felt small drops of water falling on to her mane and body. Panting for breath, fighting to stay awake, she shouted as loud as she could.
“I’m here Rainbow! I’m here!” Fluttershy didn’t hear a response at first but after a sudden crackle of thunder and flash of lighting, she finally heard a familiar voice respond to her.
Tense silence filled the air around the four ponies as they trotted through the jungle. Small raindrops had started to fall from the cloud-filled sky. Twilight lead the other ponies as she walked along with Applejack beside her, Rarity and Pinkie Pie followed closely behind.
“Where we headed Twi?” Applejack asked, hoping to start a conversation to get her mind off the guilt she was feeling.
“I…I don’t know.” Twilight admitted, her gaze locked onto the dirt floor beneath her hooves.
“Well, we’ll need a good vantage point if we are to find Rainbow and Fluttershy.” Rarity suggested.
“Vantage point?” Applejack asked with a confused look on her face.
“She means a really high place so that we can see the forest.” Twilight explained.
“Exactly. If we do find a vantage point, we would be able to at least see if we are even near Gryphus and if not, maybe we could spot for clues as to where those two Peagasi might be.” Rarity reasoned.
“Well, at least it’s a plan. Ain’t nothing we gonna do just by walking around this forest.” Applejack agreed.
“But where are we going to find a vantage point?” Twilight asked, her eyes looking around the forest but only trees were present.
“Pinkie, do ya have any ideas?” Applejack asked, turning to the flat maned pony trotting slowly with Rarity.
“What about there?” Pinkie lifted her left hoof and pointed at a towering structure in the distance. It looked like a pyramid except instead of ending at a point, it ended with a flat top.
“That’s perfect!” Twilight shouted with a smile.
“Nice eye, sugercube!” Applejack praised the pink mare but she merely responded with a quick smile which vanished almost immediately as she lowered her head down, continuing her slow trot to their destination.
----------
“Hey there, Fluttercry.” The familiar voice came from right opposite Fluttershy, standing all the way at the other end of the square area. Rainbow, as the yellow pony expected, was still wearing her Shadowbolt uniform, a large smirk on her face. “You actually made it. I’m surprised.” Fluttershy’s former best friend took a few steps forward.
“R-Rainbow! Who did this to you?” Fluttershy asked desperately but was met with a loud laughter from the six colored mare.
“You really want the answer to that? Fine. I did promise you that you’d get the answer to all your questions.” Rainbow let out a loud whistle which echoed into the sky. In mere seconds, a large, looming sillohoute started descending from the clouds above. Fluttershy immediately recognized the shape of the enigmatic figure. It was the same shape that she saw race up from the forest while she was trying to catch up to Rainbow hours ago.
As the figure approached the ground, his figure started to become crystal clear to the butter-colored mare. Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she saw that it was a griffin. However, what striked fear into her heart was when she recognized the armor the griffin was wearing. The shining piece of metal emblazoned with Gryphus’s coat of arms.
“Y-You! You were the griffin that attacked our carriage!” Fluttershy yelled out, fear and anger filling her heart.
“So, a pony smart enough to remember me eh? That’s a surprise. Call me General, it’s only fair I tell you how you should address the person that opened your friend’s eyes.” The griffin spoke with an arrogant tone. Lifting up one of his claws, he pointed towards the fear-filled yellow mare. “Rainbow. Do it.”
Without warning, Rainbow sped off, leaving only a rainbow colored trail as she flew towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy didn’t even have the time to react when she felt Rainbow hoof slamming into her face full force, causing her to tumble back. Her eyes filled with tears as she lifted herself off the ground.
“W…what…” Fluttershy could barely speak, looking up, she saw Rainbow Dash and her uniform. The small yellow lighting bolts that adorned the suit and the flying skull emblazoned on her flank. Rainbow landed on the ground, looking at the tearful Fluttershy, a huge grin on Rainbow’s face, showing absolutely no remorse whatsoever. “What have you done to her!?” The yellow mare shouted, her voice breaking from her tears.
The General’s loud, maniacal laughter resonated through the skies as he walked forward, standing beside Rainbow Dash.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” The General scoffed. The dark clouds had started to swirl overhead, thunder striking down from above.
“What-What have you done to my friend!?” Fluttershy cried out. She wanted an answer yet feared for what it might be. Again, the General replied her question with another laugh.
“I merely opened her eyes. She wanted her dream so badly, to be part of a Professional Flying Team but you and your ‘friends’ were always holding her back.” His tone was blunt and void of remorse.
“That’s….that’s not true!” Fluttershy shut her eyes as she spoke, shaking her head, tears continued to flow down her face.
“Oh is it not? Look at her!” The general lifted his hand, gesturing it to Rainbow Dash, who was in a position, ready to attack. “She’s part of the Shadowbolts now. Loyalty…gone.”
“That’s not true! Rainbow…Rainbow would never betray us like this! Never!” Fluttershy wanted to convince herself this was all true, that the Rainbow Dash she still knew was under that suit. Her left cheek was in intense pain but she didn’t care.
“Oh really? Rainbow…” The general stared at the Pegasus beside him.
“Yes master?” Rainbow asked immediately.
“M-m-master?” Fluttershy’s eyes directed upwards, staring at what she thought was an imposter. She knew Rainbow Dash would never abandon her and her friends… would she?
“Kill her.” With these words, the Rainbow Pegasus’s grin grew wider as he flew forward, leaving a trail of Rainbow light in his wake.
Before Fluttershy could react to what the General had just said, she felt a sharp pain in her belly. As she looked down, she saw that Rainbow had hit belly at full speed, sending waves of agonizing pain coursing through her body. She shut her eyes as tears of agony started to flow. After what seemed like forever, the hurt yellow mare finally landed on the floor, clutching her belly as she coughed and wheezed with tears of pain dripping down her face, camouflaged by the heavy rain that was pouring down.
“How weak!” Rainbow yelled as she watched the pink maned mare writhe in pain on the floor. “They were right about you. You’re just a useless, good-for-nothing Pegasus.” Fluttershy winced at every word. Each syllable was like a chisel, breaking away at her defenses one bit at her time. “All the times I defended you were such a waste…” The words the cyan Pegasus spoke were hurtful enough on their own but hearing them from the mouth of her best friend, it carried a different weight to Fluttershy all together. Rainbow approached the Pegasus with a frown.
“Killing you would be the best. For everyone.” Rainbow lifted her hoof high in the air, preparing to deal the final strike. However, just before she slammed her hoof down, Fluttershy felt something in her snap. She swung open her eyes just as the rainbow maned mare forced her hoof down, expecting it to end the butter-colored mare’s life but instead feeling it slam against the hard, wet floor underneath.
“What!?” Rainbow exclaimed in shock.
Fluttershy now stood a short distance away from her, managing to roll out of the way in the nick of time. The past tears she had shed stained her face, however, she cried no new ones.
“You…” Fluttershy’s eyebrows arched together as adrenaline and rage filled her body. “Rainbow Dash. You’ve been my friend since I was a filly. You stuck up for me when no one else in Equestria would. You’ve…” She turned her head up to stare her former best friend in her eye. “You’ve always been my best friend, Rainbow! Don’t you remember me!? Don’t you remember anything!?” She hoped that some of the words she spoke would get to the Rainbow Dash she knew.
“Of course I remember!” Rainbow Dash’s friendly tone sparked a fire of hope within the yellow mare. However, the fire was quickly extinguished. “It only serves as fuel for how much I hate you.” The words caused Fluttershy to take a step back, shutting her eyes and turning her head away. “I could have been great! If I wasn’t always sticking up for you and your pathetic self!” Rainbow shouted loudly, her voice overpowering even though of thunder. “So you useless mare. Are you gonna let me kill you easily or are you gonna try to resist?”
“I miss you…” Fluttershy muttered to herself under her breath, staring at the ground beneath her hooves. “I want you back, Rainbow!” Fluttershy darted her head upwards, her face flushed with anger. “I want my friend back!” She screamed and without any warnings, charged straight at Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus was taken completely by surprise, not managing to react in time as the yellow mare pushed her on to the ground, forcing her body to slide against the harsh, slippery floor.
Rainbow pushed herself back onto her hooves, staring at her assailant, her nostrils flaring. “You were never my friend!” Rainbow yelled, “All you did was hold me back!” She screamed before flying straight back at Fluttershy, landing a forceful blow on her flank, just above her backhooves. The yellow Pegasus crumbled on the spot, the pain that filled her body was unbearable. So much so that she couldn’t scream out loud, only being able to release a small whimper from the edge of her lips before her hooves failed her, falling down on where she stood.
Fluttershy couldn’t move any of her limbs, the hunger, exhaustion and thirst had finally caught up to her. The adrenaline that allowed her to fight back had worn away and her defenses had finally fallen. Gazing up above her, she saw what was once her best friend. The same Pegasus she would laugh and talk with now lifted her hoof high in the air, ready to end the yellow mare’s life. She felt defeated as she laid her head down and shut her eyes closed. She wanted this living nightmare to end, for it to all go away.
Using the very last reserves of energy, Fluttershy started to sing in a soothing but torn voice, her sobs interrupting every few words that escaped her weak lips… “Rainbow my dear I cannot express my delight~”
Rainbow started to tremble, voices and memories had started flooding her mind. She couldn’t hear her own thoughts nor could she understand them. The cyan Pegasus started to lose her vision, her will and her strength. Slowly, she lowered her front hoof, the same hoof meant to take away her best friend’s life. Fluttershy opened her eyes, wondering why the death she was awaiting for never came. When she finally caught sight of Rainbow in her blurred vision, she saw her backing away, swaying from side to side before collapsing on the ground with her two forehooves covering her ears.
“What is the meaning of this!?” The General shouted as he flew towards the two ponies. “Rainbow! Get up and finish her!” He commanded but Rainbow forced herself onto the ground as she writhed in pain.
“There’s so many voices! Make them stop! Make them go away! Please!!” Rainbow begged with tear filled eyes. The storm had gotten even heavier with the winds blowing heavier than ever and endless lighting bolts struck the ground, sending the booming sounds of thunder echoing through the forest.
Fluttershy immediately picked up on Rainbow’s words, carrying on the song in her hushed tone, trying her best to hold back her tears and sing as loud as she possibly could.
“Its abundantly clear that somewhere out here Is a pet that will suit you just right.”
The cyan Pegasus released a bloodcurdling scream.
“They’re growing! Stop them! Get them out! I’ll do anything!” Rainbow pleaded but there seemed to be no peace in sight.
“Stop it!” The General demanded as he stared at Fluttershy, still lying on the ground, motionless. The pink maned mare was weak but she knew it was working. Ignoring the General demands and her own pain, she continued singing.
“Rainbow have faith You see I will bet you Somewhere out her-”
The only sound that followed was the ear-piercing sound of Fluttershy’s screams. The General had kicked the yellow mare brutally on her underbelly with his talons, piercing her skin and causing crimson red liquid to flow from the wounds which were small and circular. The loud screams of anguish immediately snapped Rainbow out of her trance, ceasing the voices in her head as tears of sorrow had started to flow down her face.
“Get away from her!” Rainbow yelled, pushing the General away forcefully. “Don’t you dare touch her!” She yelled before bowing her head towards her best friend who was clearly suffering greatly. Fluttershy’s eyes were tightly shut with all her might, her hooves were brought up to her wounds, staining the yellow fur a sickly blood red. Her breaths were quick and short and her face was twisted in agony.
“F-Fluttershy…” Rainbow stuttered out. “I’m-I’m so so sorry… I knew what was going on I just…I was just…” She couldn’t continue through her weeps.
The injured Pegasus managed to force open her eyes slightly, a soft smile appearing on her lips. “I forgive you. I’m just happy you’re back,” The weak, soft voice was heartbreaking to listen to for Rainbow as Fluttershy recoiled in pain. “Just….run….” Her voice faded away softly as her hooves went limp. Rainbow watched in horror as her eyes closed shut and her warm smile faded away before her own eyes.
“F-Fluttershy!? Fluttershy! Answer me!” Rainbow had started to fear the worse but calmed down slightly when she saw the yellow mare’s chest rising and falling slowly. “Fluttershy! Please ans-” but before she could finish her call, she felt a sharp, burning pain underneath her left wing. Turning to look what had happened, she saw the General had sliced a deep wound just below her wing with his razor sharp talons. The cyan Pegasus screamed as loud as she could. She wanted to fight back but each movement seemed like an obstacle on its own.
She wanted to stand and fight, she wanted to protect her closest friend but she knew she couldn’t. She could barely stand, much less fight. Fluttershy’s last words hung in her head, “Just…run…..” Rainbow’s mind was in a mess, her heart racing. Glancing one last time to the unconscious Pegasus, she turned around before spreading her wings and taking to the skies. Her left wing sent pulses of torment through her but she knew there was no other way. She knew that flying as far away as she could would be her best chance of surviving.
“Oh no you don’t!” With a snap of his talons, two griffins appeared behind the General. Immediately, they soared through the sky, bringing a large, black cloud in their talons and positioning it ahead of the escaping mare. When Rainbow crossed under the cloud, the two griffins gave the cloud a swift kick which sent two scorching white bolts of lighting towering downwards, striking Rainbow Dash’s wings and charring the top half of them jet black.
Rainbow crashed hard into the ground, the black Shadowbolt suit providing no protection against the rough, wet stone floor. The suit tore quickly when her right hoof grazed against the ground, tearing it and causing blood to flow from the wound. The sharp sting of the wound made the Pegasus want to cry out but she couldn’t find the strength to do so.
‘Just…run…’ the words kept replaying in Rainbow’s mind, echoing off invisible walls before returning again. She lifted her front left hoof, the only hoof she could even manage to control. She inched closer to the steps not far away from her, the same steps Fluttershy ascended mere minutes ago. Each grab brought her closer to her goal, the unrelenting rain pouring on her as she desperately moved towards the temple steps. Her mane had fallen straight and her tail seemed inanimate. It lazily rested on the ground with no signs of movement whatsoever. After a few small grabs and drags, she felt herself being pulled up into the air. She didn’t need to turn to see who it was.
“You want to run? You want to leave your best friend here? Then go. Look, I’ll even help you!” The General marched towards the temple steps, the multi colored mane mare in his claw. When they were finally there, the General lifted Rainbow Dash and lowered his mouth towards her left ear to ensure the next few words would be embedded in Rainbow’s mind. “You were never loyalty.” He tossed Rainbow over the edge as she rolled down the stone steps.
Rainbow didn’t resist, the final specks of will to live she had left were destroyed at the General’s lost words. She allowed herself to roll down the rough stone steps, every so often a sharp piece would rip a small wound in her already injured body. However, she couldn’t feel anything. No pain. No joy. No sadness and no fear. The only emotion that remained in her empty heart was guilt. At the foot of the steps, she landed in a pool of soft mud, covering her near lifeless body in a coat of wet dirt.
‘He’s right…’ The cyan Pegasus thought to herself. ‘I’m hopeless. I was weak. I hurt Fluttershy then abandoned her.’ Rainbow closed her eyes for what she thought would be the final time, her mind reciting her thoughts. ‘I’m no ‘loyalty’. I’m not even a friend…’ The final sounds her ear caught were the faint rustling of the bushes behind her. Thinking it must be the griffin to ensure she was dead; she let her body fall limp and prayed for a quick death…
“Well we’re almost there girls.” Twilight said as they walked towards the temple steps. The rain fell heavier than ever, forcing all their manes flat.
“Well that was surprisingly quick. I figured it’d be days before we reach that tower thing.” Rarity remarked, picking the leaves off of her coat and blowing her wet mane with her breath.
“I’m just happy we’re here. Maybe now we can get some idea of where the hay we are.” Applejack added.
“Pinkie, darling. Are you all right?” Rarity asked the flat-maned mare standing at the back of the group.
“Yeah…I guess…” Pinkie replied in a depressed tone. Rarity opened her mouth to comfort Pinkie but was interrupted by Twilight’s scream. “Twilight!?” Rarity and Pinkie rushed to the purple mare who stood at the entrance to the temple steps.
“W-What is that!?” Twilight asked loudly, staring at a strange figure covered in mud just in front of the stone steps. The other ponies glanced from behind her, their eyes displaying their curious feeling.
“Why-why don’t ya’ll check it out?” Applejack suggested, fear clearly present in her voice. Twilight was the first pony to step forward with shaking hooves. Lightly, she tapped the unknown figure but it didn’t respond. As soon as she pushed the figure over, her heart stopped. She couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. She was sure it was a trap but the longer she stared, the worst she felt. The black and yellow suit was one of the Shadowbolts…and the rainbow-colored mane of the pony wearing it was unmistakable.
“R-R-R…” Twilight couldn’t find it in herself to finish the sentence; her hooves shook violently as she sat on the wet mud with wide, open eyes.
“Rainbow Dash!?” Rarity yelled, completing Twilight’s sentence. “She’s hurt! Her wings! They’re-” She swallowed the rest of her sentence, she couldn’t find it in herself to continue speaking.
“Hold on a minute!” Applejack shouted out in protest. “This ain’t Rainbow! This is some kinda trick I tells ya! Ain’t no way would Rainbow be wearing a Shadowbolts uniform! Ain’t no way she would be this hurt!” The orange pony ranted but Rarity and Twilight didn’t seem to be paying attention, their hooves rooted to the ground.
“This ain’t Rainbow!!” Applejack shouted once more but this time, a tear rolled down her left cheek. She wanted to shout again but was interrupted by a sharp tug on her tail. Turning around, she saw Pinkie’s tear-filled, sorrowful eyes. She immediately understood what the pink mare was trying to say, shutting her eyes as tight as she possibly could, she whispered to herself. “This-this is Rainbow…”
“G-girls! Come on! We have to help her!” Twilight commanded.
“Is she…?” Applejack reluctantly asked.
“She’s alive, AJ.” Twilight comforted the troubled pony. “But if we don’t do something about these wounds she’s not going to be for long! We need to find a place we can set up shelter for her!” Twilight’s horn grew a bright purple and the cyan Pegasus levitated in the air, before being placed down on Rarity’s back. Applejack immediately rushed beside the white mare.
“H-hey, sugercube. You wouldn’t mind letting me carry Rainbow would ya?” Applejack asked, hoping to not sound too forward.
“Are you sure Applejack? Just because I’m a lady doesn’t mean I can’t carry my own weight you know?” Rarity commented.
“Please Rarity. Please.” Applejack begged with her tear-filled eyes.
“Very well. But if it ever gets too much you can always pass her back to me.” Rarity lifted Rainbow off of her back and onto the orange pony.
“Thank ya Rarity.” Applejack turned her head towards the unconscious mare. “It’s all right Rainbow. We got ya. I got ya.” She whispered at the barely breathing pony on her back, feeling her chest lightly rise before it falls, as they trotted a little into the forest, completely unaware that Fluttershy was just a few steps away at the top of the structure…
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The shelter was built in a small open area in the forest, consisting only of four long stick holding up a square piece of blue fabric Rarity had in her saddlebags. It was barely big enough to shelter Rainbow, nopony else. Rarity laid another piece of purple cloth underneath, ensuring that Rainbow would not have to feel the cold, harsh floor.
“S-she’s…” Applejack stuttered on her words as her eyes examined Rainbow’s wounds. The Pegasus was clean from most of the mud that obstructed the other ponies view of her injuries. The straw-hat wearing Earth Pony bit her bottom lip, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were trying to force themselves up. Rainbow’s half burnt wings were spread out wide, in full view of everypony as they lazily slumped over her body.
“Let me examine her.” The purple unicorn stepped forward, her horn glowing bright.
“What are you doing Twilight?” Rarity asked as Twilight bent her head down, swiping her horn across Rainbow’s near live-less body.
“It’s an x-ray spell one of the doctors taught me…” Twilight lifted up her head and the glow around her horn ceased. “…he told me to use it when I needed to examine someone’s injuries.”
“So? How is she?” Pinkie Pie asked, sitting on the wet, muddy floor.
“She’s…” Twilight walked back to the group, unable to finish her sentence.
“Twi! You tell me what’s Rainbow’s condition right now!” Applejack yelled in anger. “The only way for me to help her is to what’s wrong with Rainbow!”
“She’s in dire condition.” Twilight answered, her tear-filled eyes staring at Applejack’s. “I’m sorry, AJ but… I don’t think there’s much we can do without medical equipment.”
“No…” Applejack shouted to herself. “No, no, no, no! I’m not just gonna let her die like this!”
“No one said we would, darling.” Rarity reassured Applejack but the southern mare didn’t seem to notice, her eyes tearing up as she approached Rainbow.
All of a sudden, Rainbow started to stir. Applejack was the first to notice this, not taking her eyes off her best friend for more than a second.
“G-girls! She’s waking up!” Applejack shouted in delight but her smile vanished into a depressed frown as quick as it came. Rainbow Dash moved slightly, before screaming out in pain. All of them shut their eyes, the scream scratching away at their hearts.
“F-F-Fluttershy…” Rainbow tried to stand but it only resulted in another loud scream, echoing the thunder which struck at the same time. The light brown mare immediately rushed over to the hurt Pegasus.
“Rainbow! You know where Fluttershy is!?” Applejack went closer, hugging her wounded friend.
“T-T-They got her.” Rainbow took a short breath. “A-at t-the temple. They got her…and it’s all my fault.” Tears were clearly forming at Rainbow’s eyelids. Applejack could see she was not only physically hurt, her mental state was several damaged as well.
“Temple? You mean the same temple we found you!?” Rainbow nodded softly, before letting out a softer but still heartbreaking scream.
“I abandoned her. I was weak.” Rainbow’s voice got softer as she said those words, in an almost hypnotic state.
“Rainbow, don’t give up on me, ya hear?” Applejack brought her ears closer to Rainbow’s mouth, her hoof placed over Rainbow.
“I’m not loyalty…” Rainbow’s voice lowered into a whisper. “I’m no friend…” Rainbow’s body went limp.
“Rainbow!? Rainbow! You answer me right now you hear!?” Applejack started to panic, was she…? Applejack brought her ear closer to Rainbow’s chest to hear her heart beating softly and slowly. Tears didn’t do Applejack’s heart, or what was left of it, justice.
“Girls, we have another problem.” Rarity interrupted Applejack, as much as she hated to.
“Fluttershy…” Twilight knew that if she said another word, she too would join Applejack in breaking down.
“If they did this to Rainbow…” Applejack noticed the gravity of the situation.
“Who knows what they might do to Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie stood up, her eyebrows arched towards each other with trembling hooves and tears at her eyelids.
“Why if those Griffins lay a finger on poor old Fluttershy I’d…. I’d…!” Rarity was visibly furious.
“I need two other ponies to accompany me, we need to save Fluttershy!” Twilight commanded.
“Two?” Pinkie Pie asked in confusion, she glanced at her three friends still well and standing.
“One pony needs to stay here, to look after Rainbow. I’m not leaving her here alone.” Twilight explained to Pinkie.
“I’ll stay.” Everyone stared at Applejack, who answered in a heart’s beat.
“A-are you sure? Rainbow’s…” Twilight was worried, Applejack didn’t seem to be able to take much more mental abuse.
“I’m sure, ya’ll just need to save Fluttershy. I don’t know what I’d do if anypony got…” Applejack swallowed her words.
“O-okay then… just stay with Rainbow. We’ll be back soon with Fluttershy. We promise.” Twilight saw everypony’s worry and concern in their eyes. “Let’s go, girls.” Twilight ran off first, Rarity followed quickly behind. Pinkie stood stationary, staring at Applejack who had went back to lie on the dirty, muddy ground, next to Rainbow. “Pinkie!” Pinkie Pie snapped out of her daze.
“Coming!” Pinkie ran over, not before throwing another glance towards Applejack who had her hoof around the hurt mare. ----------
It had been minutes after minutes of silence. Applejack laid next to the Pegasus, her hoof wrapped carefully around the mare’s body, hoping to keep her warm from the cold night air. She made sure not to touch the charred remains of what were once her wings. The Shadowbolt suit did little to prevent the chill of the continious gusts from the storm as they blew towards the two friends. The heavy downpour only served as another obstacle, forcing Applejack to put up with the ice cold rain and biting winds while her suffering friend laid under the warmth of the shelter.
Suddenly, Rainbow started to move slightly, startling Applejack for a short while but at the same time, bringing relief to the worried mare.
“A-Alone again.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, unaware of the pony beside her.
“No, Rainbow. You ain’t alone. I’m here.” Applejack answered immediately with a smile.
“Applejack?” Rainbow whispered weakly.
“Yes, sugercube. I’m here. No worries now.” Applejack felt the cyan Pegasus squirm a little underneath her hooves but she immediately stopped, wincing in pain.
“I can’t-I can’t open my eyes.” Silence fell over the two mares. “A-Are you mad?” The multicolored-maned Pegasus asked.
“Now why in Equestria would I be mad at you, sugercube?” Applejack only cared about her friend’s well-being, a little fearful as to why she would be asked these questions.
“Y-You don’t know? I-I was the pony that attacked Fluttershy. I hurt her and now she’s been captured. I should have stayed for her! But instead…I ran.” Each word seemed like a waking nightmare for Rainbow to speak and Applejack seemed to feel the same. “I’m no friend. I’m useless…I’m hopeless…” Tears overcame her words.
Applejack hugged Rainbow slightly tighter, being sure not to hurt her more than she was. “You aren’t hopeless, Rainbow. I’m sure you weren’t yourself when you attacked Fluttershy and I’m sure she didn’t want you to stay and get killed either.” Applejack’s voice started to break slowly, sobs interrupted every few words. “You’re the strongest of us all… if you couldn’t control yourself. I’m sure none of us could.”
Rainbow was crying without restraint, she winced in pain at she sob she made but Applejack didn’t stop her.
“He did something to me. He injected me with some sort of liquid. It was horrible.” Rainbow was barely able to talk through her sobs. “When he injected me, I felt myself being dragged away in my mind; I could feel myself losing control of my own body. When I opened my eyes, I was chained to the floor at each hoof. Around me was nothing but endless white space and in front of me was everything that was happening in real life. I could feel everything but yet I had no control over anything.”
“R-Rainbow. You ain’t gotta tell me any of this. I understand Rainbow, I trust you.” Applejack comforted Rainbow but that only seemed to cause her tears to flow even more.
“I said things I didn’t mean. I did things that I would never have done. And I felt every moment of it. I struggled against the chains the whole time. Screaming. Yelling. Begging for everything to stop. But it was no use; I had to watch helplessly as I hurt the pony I cared for the most. Only when I heard Fluttershy sing, did the chains started to break away, letting me regain control of my body one part at a time. It was like a dream, only, it felt like a nightmare.”
Applejack remained silent, unsure of what to think of her friend.
“I’m not tough, AJ. I’m scared. I’d always been scared. I always thought acting touch would deceive me, to be braver.” Rainbow whispered through her winces.
“You’re the bravest pony I ever knew, Rainbow Dash.” Applejack whispered back, nuzzling again Rainbow’s body.
“A-Apple…” Her sobs didn’t seem to allow Rainbow to speak even a word. “Applejack, do me a favor.”
“Anything, sugercube.”
“T-Take-Take this stupid suit off me.” Rainbow pleaded. Applejack immediately stood up, unzipped the suit from Rainbow’s tail all the way to just under her mane. Applejack then took the suit in her mouth, gave it on swift tug from below and tossed it aside, showing fully the extent of Rainbow’s injuries. Multiple cuts and bruises were present all over Rainbow’s body and the fur under her left wing had been died a sickening red due to the large cut that was present. However, the blood had seemed to stop flowing, giving Applejack a small relief.
“Feel better?” Applejack lay back down, putting her right hoof over Rainbow’s body once again, trying her best to maintain her composure after seeing truly how dire her condition was.
“It-It hurts. The guilt, it hurts so much. I wish it would just all go away…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off into an inaudible mumble, shutting her eyes before falling unconscious again. Applejack checked her heartbeat one more time; a slow and steady echo reached her ears. Lying down slowly beside Rainbow in the rain, she cried to herself to see the brash, brave Rainbow Dash act so defeated, her tears blended with the rain that fell on her face.
Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Rarity ascended the stone steps as fast as they could, their hooves trotting up several slippery steps at a time. They knew that time was ticking down and that each second counted. Upon reaching the top of the steps, they were in the wide stone square, the same stone square Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had just fought in. The General stood at the opposite end with his back completely straight, his gaze unmoving from the ponies that had just appeared.
“Oh look who finally arrived.” The General took a few steps forward and immediately, the ponies took their battle positions.
“Where’s Fluttershy!?” Twilight demanded in a loud booming voice, her horn glowing bright.
“Who? Is that your yellow friend with the pink mane? Is that who you’re asking for?” The General grinned maliciously, stopping in his tracks. “How can you be so sure I haven’t killed her?”
Pinkie’s furious frown transformed into one filled with fear. “No….” She whispered to herself as she slowly backed away.
“How can you be so sure she’s still alive, much less with me?” The General continued, causing Pinkie Pie to crouch on the ground, trembling.
“Stop it!” Rarity commanded with a glowing horn, staring at the horrified pink mare. The General replied with a laugh before snapping his talons and as he did, a griffin, dressed in armor, descended from the swirling clouds above, biting something in his beak. As he approached closer, the ponies could finally make out the light yellow coat and the light pink mane with the wounds on her underbelly showing clearly.
“F-Flutters!” Pinkie called out. As the griffin lowered Fluttershy into the talons of the General, he lifted one of his claws to Fluttershy’s neck, pressing it extremely close.
“Wh-What are you…” Twilight couldn’t believe the sight in front of her.
“Give her back!” Pinkie Pie yelled, running forwards to try to get her best friend back but froze in place when she saw the General pressing his talon harder against the unconscious yellow mare’s neck. “F-Flutters…” Pinkie whispered to herself.
“Now, now. Let’s not be hasty.” The General tapped his talon against Fluttershy’s neck. “We wouldn’t want her to choke on her own blood now do we?” He threatened.
“Fluttershy!” All 3 ponies shouted in unison. Slowly, Fluttershy started waking up, her movements were minimal and they could see that she was in a horrible shape. Hunger, thirst, pain and exhaustion had probably drained all but a small reserve of energy.
“G-girls…” Fluttershy whimpered out, her head drooping low. “R-run…” She could barely muster out anything more than a couple of words at a time.
“What have you done to her!?” Pinkie yelled angrily, her breaths deep and heavy, tears at the edge of her eyes.
“Oh, what did I do to her? I merely inflicted barely noticeable wounds…” The General explained in a cocky voice, staring down at his hostage.
“You hurt her!?” Rarity joined Pinkie’s yelling.
“Just barely. You have your close friend, Rainbow Dash, to thank for all the injuries.” The General released a cold, mocking laughter before staring back at the ponies, Pinkie Pie was frozen in front of Twilight and Rarity, her face showing anger but her heart feeling devastation.
“Y-you’re lying!” Twilight shouted back, trying to convince herself otherwise.
“No, I’m not. Rainbow almost broke her left hind leg and almost smashed her ribs in. Too bad those were just ‘maybe’s’. I personally thought Rainbow Dash had more power than that.” The General scoffed at the ponies in front of him.
“Rainbow-Rainbow would never do that!” Rarity’s patience was quickly running thin.
“Oh, she wouldn’t? Let’s ask someone closer to you then.” Turning his attention to his hostage, the talon at her neck turned slightly, harmlessly passing it past Fluttershy’s neck. Fluttershy shivered in fear as she felt the cold weapon slide across her throat. The other ponies could only watch in horror.
“Fluttershy, dear. Did Rainbow Dash attack and almost kill you?” The General asked in a mocking tone. The pink-maned mare didn’t answer at first but as he pressed his talons harder, threatening to break skin. The weakened mare could do nothing but nod her head in regret.
The other ponies were dumbfounded. Their emotions were mixed and their mind in shambles.
Fluttershy’s tears started to flow. She wanted to explain why Rainbow did that to her but she knew that if she tried, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.
“Now, is it also true that when she became herself, she ran? Leaving you to die?” Fluttershy wanted to break down, she didn’t want to answer, and she didn’t want her friends to think badly of her friend. She soon felt the talon tighten around her neck, any small force now would pierce flesh. Fluttershy nodded with a remorseful heart.
“T-that…That…” Twilight was on the verge of crying too. ‘How could Rainbow do this to her!? Fluttershy trusted her!’ Her mind paused. ‘I trusted her…’ Her mind drifted off slowly, only being brought back when she heard Fluttershy’s meek voice speak again.
“B-but she… Rainbow… Rainbow was…” Fluttershy spoke out but was immediately scared silent when the General shouted next to her.
“Quiet!”
“W-what do you want with Fluttershy!?” Rarity hesitated to ask
“That’s the beautiful thing. I don’t want anything to do with her. I could just kill her right here, right now, and it wouldn’t make a difference to me.” The General saw the scorn on all the ponies’ eyes, a smile appearing on his face.
“Y-you wouldn’t…” Pinkie Pie threw a glance at Fluttershy, the yellow pony’s look of fear and more only sank Pinkie’s heart.
“Oh trust me, I very well would. Alas, I can not. It would be too big of a mess to clean up, especially with that Princess of yours.” The General turned to stare at the talon at Fluttershy’s neck. “So, here’s the deal. You go back to Ponyville. Never think of reaching Gryphon and you all will be safe… for now. If you even think about going to Gryphon, I will kill you and your friends faster then you can even blink.” The General tightened his grip on Fluttershy, causing the others to tense up, ready to spring on him at anytime. “As a little reminder…” The General slid his talon slightly on Fluttershy’s neck, causing her to tense up and struggle, trying her best to break free but to no avail.
A small wound had started to appear, causing blood to flow lightly down her neck. Fluttershy whimpered in pain, it was near unbearable. The ponies could only watch in horror, they knew they could not take action and risk Fluttershy’s life. The General started to fly upwards, carrying Fluttershy a short distance up before hovering a few meters above the ground, his talon stopped cutting. “Never. Ever. Cross me.” The General released his talon and grip on Fluttershy, causing her to start falling out of the sky.
Pinkie stood, her eyes wide and locked at the helpless pony falling out of the sky, like an angel losing her wings. Her mind shouted at her to run but her hooves did not obey.
Thud.
Pinkie winced, shutting her eyes tight and turning her head away to force herself to not see the yellow mare hit the floor. Turning her eyes back, she saw Fluttershy lying, seemingly lifeless, on the cold hard floor.
The General’s loud, mocking laughter drew all the ponies attention upwards. When their eyes reached the General, he had placed a cloud above Fluttershy. Though Twilight and Rarity gave confused looks, Pinkie immediately knew what his plan was. Dashing straight past the purple and white unicorn, she rushed towards her best friend, lying unmoving a distance away.
“Fluttershy! Fluttershy!” Her words rang out through the storm but the Pegasus didn’t stir. Closing her eyes, she took a dive just as the General’s claws landed on the cloud, sending a giant lightning bolt to strike directly underneath. Pinkie felt Fluttershy’s soft fur on her hooves in the middle of her dive, knowing that she had successfully pushed her friend away. However, she soon felt sudden surges of immeasurable pain shocking through her body, a huge burning feeling on her flank.
Twilight and Rarity stood with their mouths wide open, seeing the giant lighting bolt strike the pink pony mid air, the spine-chilling scream filled the stormy skies.
“I’ve murdered thousands. You six are no exception.” The General warned before taking off swiftly to the forest, giving Twilight and Rarity no chance to give chase. Turning their heads back towards their friends, they galloped quickly to inspect their wounds.
Pinkie lay on the wet ground, her body twitching due to small amounts of electricity which was trapped inside her body. Most ponies would have considered themselves blessed for still being alive, but Pinkie threw her gaze at the butter-colored mare, still unmoving. Mustering all the energy she could, she slowly crawled towards Fluttershy.
“P-p-please Flutters. Be okay…. P-please…” She recited softly, tears at the edge of her face. After a few agonizing pulls, Pinkie finally felt the familiar soft fur of the Pegasus. “I’m here. Wake up, Flutters, please. I’m here for you.” “Pinkie Pie!” Rarity and Twilight shouted in unison but the pink pony’s attention was drawn entirely to Fluttershy.
With the last bits of electricity gone from her body, Pinkie slid her hooves around Fluttershy, grasping her tightly. “Say something. Say anything!” She cried out, startling the two unicorns just behind her. Pinkie could feel Fluttershy’s chest rising and falling slowly, giving her at least a little bit of comfort for the time being.
“P-Pinkie, your flank…” Twilight said, pointing at the area of charred skin on Pinkie’s body. Blood had begun seeping from the wound; however, Pinkie didn’t seem to take notice of it.
Twilight took a few steps forward, her horn shining bright as she dragged it across Fluttershy’s body.
“F-Fluttershy’s wounds are really serious. I’m afraid that if we don’t do anything, she might not-”
“Shut up! You don’t know that!” Pinkie defended with a sudden surge of anger within her.
“But Pinkie, Fluttershy’s in serious-”
“Shut up Twilight! Shut up! I don’t need to know that! She’ll make it! I know she will!” Pinkie hugged her friend tighter within her hooves.
Rarity took a few steps forward, standing beside Twilight.
“Twilight, dear. You said it yourself. If Fluttershy doesn’t get help soon she might-”
“No! It’s too dangerous!”
“Are you saying you’d rather let Fluttershy die then have me break a rule?”
“N-No! B-but there has to be another way…”
“There is no another way, darling.” Rarity took a few steps forward, standing in front of Fluttershy.
“W-What are you guys arguing about?” Pinkie asked in a weak tone.
“R-Rarity knows one of the two spells Celestia has forbidden us to use.” Twilight explained as Rarity leaned down on the injured mare. “She knows the vital transference spell.”
“V-Vital transference?” Pinkie asked with worried eyes before wincing as a short pain shot through her body.
“Y-yes. She basically does two things with the spell. She transfers some of her life into Fluttershy and takes some of Fluttershy’s injuries to put in herself. It’s suppose to help those who are dying but the risks are just too great. If you don’t stop when you need to…you might…” Twilight stared at Rarity, not even trying to finish her sentence.
“R-Rarity you don’t have to do this…” Pinkie said but Rarity’s horn had already begun to glow a bright blue. As soon as her horn touched Fluttershy’s body, a large eruption of bright light surrounded the two mares, pushing Pinkie a short distance away from Fluttershy, landing her right next to the purple unicorn.
A clear stream of dark yellow light had started to stream from Fluttershy’s body and into Rarity’s. A similar light blue hue had started to emit from Rarity and flow like a river into Fluttershy. Suddenly, Twilight noticed something different, something that was not supposed to happen when the spell is being casted.
“Rarity!” Twilight tried to shout but the whirling noise from the spell made it impossible for anypony to hear. “Rarity! Your body!” Pinkie Pie heard Twilight’s cries and focused her vision onto Rarity’s fur. Small cuts had started to appear on the white unicorn’s body, crimson liquid had also started to seep worth, staining her coat.
“Rarity!!” Twilight tried to take a step forward but the force of the spell pushed her back.
“Twilight do something! Something’s wrong!” Pinkie pleaded. Twilight steeled herself, running backwards before charging straight at the white mare, who had significantly more cuts on her then a few seconds ago.
Twilight leapt and tackled Rarity, breaking the spell and ending the myriad of lights.
“Twilight! What in Equestria do you think you’re doing!? The spell wasn’t done yet!” Rarity angrily shouted.
“Rarity, y-your coat…”
Rarity glanced down, finally seeing the various cuts on her body. Some were minor, but some were noticeably bigger, letting blood tarnish her pearl white coat.
“Oh my.” Rarity could only reply with these 2 words.
“Didn’t you feel any pain?”
“No. Not at all.”
“This is why Celestia banned us from using the spell! Its too dangerous…” Rarity hung her head low, knowing Twilight was correct.
“Very well, Twilight. But what about Fluttershy? I mean, she clearly-”
“Girls!” Pinkie’s voice snatched the two ponies’ attention. “She’s waking up!” Twilight and Rarity wasted no time dashing over to the stirring mare.
Upon reaching Fluttershy, Twilight could see that some of the wounds that were previously present had disappeared. Fluttershy’s eyes slowly fluttered open, her mouth moving slightly.
“W-Where am I?” Fluttershy asked in a soft tone.
“Flutters!!” Pinkie shouted with a smile on her face, crawling painfully towards her and slipping her hooves around Fluttershy’s neck.
“Pinkie!?” Fluttershy called out in surprise but no answer came. Only the soft whimpers of the smiling pink pony who had her hooves around her.
“Fluttershy, darling. How do you feel?” Rarity asked, concerned.
“Fine actually.” Fluttershy pushed Pinkie lightly away as she stood up on weak hooves. When she finally laid eyes on Rarity, tears had started to form almost immediately.
“Oh my. Rarity what happened to you!?”
“Oh this? I just… fell. That’s all.” Rarity quickly replied.
Fluttershy glanced down at the pink mare who lay on the floor, crying with joy. Her eyes stuck to the huge burn mark on Pinkie’s flank.
“Pinkie!? W-What happened!?”
“I just fell too!” Pinkie lied with a smile. Twilight cringed at how easily Pinkie told that lie.
The realization of where they were finally hit Fluttershy. Her heart sank as she saw that two of her friends were nowhere in sight.
“W-Where’s Rainbow!? Where’s Applejack!? What happened!? Is she…” The barrage of questions shocked the ponies, they couldn’t answer for there was no room for them.
“Flutters calm down.” Pinkie interrupted. “We’ll bring you to see them okay?” As she finished her sentence, she tried to stand up but her backhooves couldn’t support her weight, sending her crashing back down onto the ground.
“Absolutely not Pinkie Pie.” Rarity’s horn started glowing again, lifting the pink pony upwards and on to Twilight’s back. “There. Twilight will carry you.”
Fluttershy walked up to the purple unicorn, her cheeks blushing. “T-Twilight?”
“Yes, Fluttershy?”
“Would you mind if I carry Pinkie? I mean… if that’s okay with you…”
Twilight gave a warm smile before levitating the pink mare onto the yellow pony’s back.
“Thank you so much Twilight.” Fluttershy answered with a smile of her own. “Come on, Pinkie Pie.” She trotted along towards the temple steps, a huge smile on both of their faces.
“Never. Ever. Cross me.” The words were the last Fluttershy heard as she felt her captor’s grip release on her. She felt herself falling, tearing through the skies as she descended to the Earth below.
‘Fly. Come on! Fly!’ The voice in her head shouted but she could not muster enough energy to even open her eyes, much less move. Everything felt like a dream, the passing gusts, the flowing of her mane. After what seemed like forever, she felt the ground on her shoulder before everything dissolved into darkness.
----------
Fluttershy’s eyes slowly opened, taking in the darkness that surrounded her. The only source of light was in a small area around her, everywhere else was completely drenched in black. Pushing herself up on her hooves, she felt neither pain nor exhaustion. The first emotion that immediately took over her was fear.
“H-Hello? Anypony here? Hello!?” But the only reply that came was the endless echo of her own voice.
“T-Twilight!?” Her voice started to show her fear. “A-Applejack!? Rarity!? Rainbow!? Rainbow where are you!?” She ran as fast as she could into the darkness, the small spot of light following her. She ran straight ahead, tears filling her eyes and hoping she might hit a wall or any indication of where she might be. “Help! Where am I!? Anypony answer me!”
After a few seconds, Fluttershy stopped running. Her hooves failed her as she collapsed onto the floor, her eyes filled with tears and her body frozen with fear. “P-P-Please…anypony...” As she pleaded, a huge white light engulfed her without warning, blinding her temporarily and feeling her surroundings change.
----------
The still night brought about a fresh scent which lingered in the air. The surrounding trees and grass made sure the air was as pure as it could be. The call of the crickets and sound of rustling leaves were the only sounds that were present. Small gusts of wind blew silently across the forest, bringing with it the cooling touch of the breeze.
At the base of a tree, a small yellow Pegasus lay down, her hooves covering her face and tears filing her eyes. She contributed to the third sound in the seemingly lifeless forest, the sound of her heartbroken sobs.
Suddenly, the distant noise of a pony’s joyful humming filled the air, clashing with the devastated sobs of the foal lying at the bottom of the tree. Soon, a small pink Earth Pony bounced through the tightly woven trees, her mane puffy and messy and she wore a huge grin on her face. Hearing the soft sobs of the Pegasus caused the small filly to stop bouncing as she approached the odd pony a short distance away.
“Hello?” The Earth Pony asked and immediately, the yellow pony turned her head up, her face full of fear upon gazing at the odd pink filly in front of her. Her sobs turned into deep and heavy breaths.
“W-Wait! I’m not gonna hurt you! I promise!” The pink pony took another step forward and the yellow filly reacted by pushing herself against the tree as far as she could go.
“P-P-P-Please! I’ll do anything just don’t hurt me!” The butter-colored Pegasus managed to beg through her sobs.
“No! I’m not going to hurt you! I’m Pinkie Pie!” The pink pony lifted her hoof to the Pegasus, who lifted her hoof up to her face on reaction.
“F-F-F-Fluttershy…” The yellow Pegasus’s meek voice said. To every other pony it would have been inaudible but somehow, Pinkie Pie heard it clearly.
“Fluttershy? That’s such a cool name!” Pinkie yelled out, bouncing around. “Why are you here in the forest so late at night? And why are you alone?” The questions only reminded Fluttershy of the events that unfolded mere hours ago, filling her eyes with tears again.
“Oh no please don’t cry! I’ll get you home! Where do you live?” Without answering in words, Fluttershy lifted her hoof in the direction of Cloudsdale, directly above her, which seemed distant and small from where they were at. “Huh!? From Cloudsdale!? How’d you fall?” Turning back to the Pegasus she could see that her words were only causing the filly to cry more and more. “Isn’t anypony going to help you get back up?” The yellow Pegasus shook her head softly.
“Hmm… Not much I can do for now. Its getting late, why don’t you get some sleep?” Pinkie suggested.
Fluttershy again responded with a furious shook of her head.
“Afraid somepony might hurt you?” Fluttershy nodded lightly. “Hmm… I know! Why don’t I stay with you? That way nopony will be able to hurt you!” The suggestion seemed to soften Fluttershy’s sobs as she slowly opened her eyes to the grinning pony in front of her.
“Okay so it’s decided! Come on,” Pinkie stepped aside, leaving an area for Fluttershy to lie on, “go ahead!”
Fluttershy lay on the grass, her mind completely confused on why such an odd pony would be so kind to her.
“A-Aren’t you going to sleep too?” She asked, concerned.
“Hmm? Oh I will later, you go ahead first. I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.” Pinkie assured the worried filly. Fluttershy felt strangely comforted by Pinkie’s words. As she rested her head on the soft grass, the exhaustion of what had happened today took over her, quickly departing her away to dream land.
Pinkie sat quietly, staring intently at the shy pony in front of her eyes. She leaned forward to the sleeping pony, lifting her hoof and lightly poking the coat of the filly in front of her.
‘So this is what a Pegasus pony feels like!’ Pinkie thought in her head.
Pinkie sat, unmoving, her eyes locked onto Fluttershy. As time went on, the moon had slowly started to disappear with the first rays of sunlight but Pinkie didn’t budge from her spot. Suddenly, a large Pegasus descended from the skies above, landing quietly next to Fluttershy. The Pegasus had a long flowing red mane with a pearl white coat.
“Thank you kindly, Earth Pony for taking care of this young filly. I shall be taking her back to Cloudsdale now.”
“W-Wait! Fluttershy’s not even awake yet! Couldn’t we wait until-” The Pegasus leaned down to pick up the sleeping filly, lightly biting her coat and sitting the yellow foal onto her back. Fluttershy continued her peaceful sleep, unknown to the events happening around her.
“I’m truly sorry Earth Pony but we must make haste to Cloudsdale. I hope that your path and hers will cross again in the future. Many thanks for taking care of this fragile little filly.” With her words, the Pegasus took off high into the sky, leaving Pinkie alone on the grass floor as she watched her new found friend disappear into the morning clouds.
“Goodbye, Fluttershy…”
----------
The world shattered around her, dropping her into the black abyss of nothing.
“W-What was that!? What’s going on!? I didn’t even get to say goodbye to her!” Her questions went unanswered and once again, she felt a large light engulfing her. This time, however, it felt different. It felt…warm.
----------
Fluttershy’s eyes slowly fluttered open, her mouth moving slightly.
“W-Where am I?” Fluttershy asked in a soft tone. Glancing around, she saw the familiar sights of the top of the monument and felt the heavy storm raging around her, she was on but her memory lay in tatters. She remembered ascending the steps and seeing Rainbow, however, the events that unfolded after that were left broken in her mind.
“Flutters!!” Fluttershy glanced down to see Pinkie, crawling with tears in her eyes towards her. Upon reaching, Pinkie wasted no time in wrapping her hooves around her neck.
“P-Pinkie!?”
~~~~~~~~~~
“G-girls! She’s waking up!” Applejack’s voice seemed distant to Rainbow, who had fell unconscious. Her mind was brought to in tatters. She couldn’t remember what had happened and even the memories she recalled she couldn’t place them in order. Rainbow moved slightly and was given a sharp, stabbing reminder of her state.
The agony that surged through her body was unbearable, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs. The pain immediately sent the memories flying back into her mind. The memories of her under the effects of the strange syrum. The memories of her hurting her best friend.
“F-F-Fluttershy…” Rainbow tried desperately to stand but the searing pain only caused her to release another ear-piercing scream. She couldn’t see who surrounded her and she wasn’t even sure if the voice she heard mere seconds ago was truly from Applejack. Her ears picked up the sound of the pouring storm and the sound of a pony trotting closer to her.
“Rainbow! You know where Fluttershy is!?” The voice was distinctly Applejack’s but Rainbow’s mind refused to believe so. However, her mouth muttered the words without any thoughts.
“T-T-They got her.” Rainbow took a short breath. “A-at t-the temple. They got her…and it’s all my fault.” She could feel tears forming at her eyelids, the thought of what she had done to Fluttershy tore away at her already injured heart, her defenses weakening with each word she spoke.
“Temple? You mean the same temple we found you!?” Rainbow couldn’t identify the voice, it sounded like Twilight’s caring tone but she couldn’t be sure. The cyan Pegasus responded with a soft nod before feeling another surge of pain rush through her, this time managing to stifle her screams a little but the resulting yell was still relatively loud.
“I abandoned her. I was weak.” Rainbow felt the surge of energy she had drain out of her, reducing her voice to a mere squeak. Her mind had not thought of the words she was speaking, resulting in an hypnotic chant as she spoke.
“Rainbow, don’t give up on me, you hear” The injured Pegasus could feel a warm, hoof placed over her shoulder. She wanted to push the hoof away in rage, anger filling her heart, but the thought of another striking of pain from every inch of movement stifled her actions.
“I’m not loyalty…” She could feel the last of her energy sapping away, barely being able to squeak out her words. “I’m no friend…” Finally, her vision went dark. Pain was no longer present and the previous sounds of the world around her went mute.
----------
When Rainbow opened her eyes once more, she saw herself next to a pond in a large open field. The moon hung high in the night sky, decorated with the diamonds around it. Trees were nowhere to be seen as she lifted herself onto her hooves. The pond was still even though weeds and lilypads adorned the lake. Leaning forward, she saw her own reflection in the water.
“W-Where am I?” Rainbow suddenly noticed that the pain she felt had completely disappeared, she threw more glances to the area around her but there was neither sign nor indication of where she might be.
“Well it’s about time you came!” A voice rang out from behind, startling Rainbow and causing her to jump and turn around in surprise. At first, Rainbow thought her eyes were playing tricks on her for in front of her stood…herself.
It was an almost identical twin, same height and mane. However, there was one distinct difference. Most of the color of the mare in front of her had faded to a shade of grey. The only colors remaining were a light blue and a yellow in her mane and tail.
“Who are you!?” Rainbow asked the imposter in front of her but was met with a laugh.
“Aw come on! Its no fun if I tell you now is it?” The doppelganger replied.
“So what, you’re going to make me guess? I’m really not in the mood for this.”
“Well, yeah! Come on, it isn’t that hard!”
“I’m not playing your game whoever you are. Just tell me where in Equestria I am right now!” Rainbow demanded.
“Wow am I really that short tempered?” The copy asked, a smile on her face.
“Answer me!”
“Not before you guess who I am!” The other Rainbow answered immediately, as if expecting that response.
Silence engulfed the two mares; Rainbow’s anger could be felt from meters away as her nostrils flared with each breath she took.
“I couldn’t care less who you are.” Rainbow responded coldly.
“What about your friends?”
“Friends? Hmph. They’ve probably abandoned me after I told them what I did to Fluttershy. They’ve probably left me to rot in the forest, to lie there in a pit of mud where nopony will find me.” Rainbow turned around, showing her flank to her copy. “And I don’t blame them. I’d rather die then face her again.”
“Aww come on Rainbow. You know Fluttershy doesn’t-”
“Doesn’t what!?” Rainbow spun back around, tears in her eyes and her face flushed with rage. “Doesn’t hate my guts for leaving her to die!? Doesn’t think I’m a horrible friend!?” She shouted heartlessly towards her copy. “D…Doesn’t want me…dead?” Her voice descended into a whisper. Almost as if she didn’t want the mare in front of her to hear.
“Come on Rainbow! Your friends care for you! They won’t leave you!”
“What friends?” At these chilling words, the second Rainbow closed her eyes and with a tear, the light blue in her mane and tail drained away, shocking the original Rainbow Dash.
“I guess you really have no idea how much they care for you, do you?” Rainbow didn’t dare answer the question, biting her bottom lip. “I’ll show you.” With a flash, Rainbow suddenly felt a huge sharp pain shoot into her body. She lost all energy in her hooves, collapsing onto the soft grass below. The screams of agony echoed through the field but her doppelganger paid no attention.
“W-What are you doing to me!?” Rainbow managed to force out in between her screams.
“I’m simply waking you up.” The copy said with an emotionless expression. The yells and screams continued as more and more pain engulfed her.
“H-Help me! I don’t want to be alone again!” Rainbow pleaded and begged but the pony in front of her simply stood and watched as she collapsed on the floor, her vision fading away completely.
----------
When she reopened her eyes, she saw nothing but the heavy rain pouring in front of the forest. She felt a odd feeling through her Shadowbolt suit, one that felt soft and thin but she thought nothing of it, still assuming that she was left alone in the forest at some remote area.
“A-Alone again.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, not aware of the pony sitting beside her.
“No, Rainbow. You ain’t alone. I’m here.” Applejack’s voice struck something within Rainbow. Both shock and sadness filled her heart.
“Applejack?” Rainbow asked weakly.
“Yes, sugercube. I’m here. No worries now.”
----------
“It-It hurts. The guilt, it hurts so much. I wish it would just all go away…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off into an inaudible mumble as she again, felt the familiar feeling of the last of her energy drain away.
When she awoke, she was once again at the pond’s edge. Nothing seemed to have changed as she felt her wounds disappear again.
“So, convinced now?” The voice made Rainbow jump again and just as she remembered, there was the grey her, standing with only the yellow color left in her mane and tail.
“Convinced about what?”
“That they still care for you silly!” The grey Rainbow Dash’s cheerful demeanor returned in an instant, a huge smile on her face.
“Applejack cares… but what about the others?”
“That I’m afraid I can’t show you. But now will you guess who I am?” No response came. “Okay I’ll give you some hints. I was something you treasured a lot. I was something you believed in everyday of your life, something you would never abandon and I made you about 20% cooler than other ponies.” Her arrogant expression angered Rainbow.
“How are those hints!?” Rainbow shouted angrily.
“Hey, don’t scream at me! Okay one last hint for you then you take all the time in the world to guess until you’re right! We have time to kill anyway. Last hint. I start with the letter L.”
“L-Loyalty?” Rainbow answered on instinct.
“Oh finally! Took you long enough!” Her clone said as she rolled her eyes.
“W-What do you mean you’re loyalty? That doesn’t make any sense!”
“Well, I’m not really up for explaining things, too boring. How about I just try to show you?”
“S-Show me? What-”
“Too many questions! Rainbow you need to take it easier. I know you! You’re the last pony to ask how something works if it just…does! And now I can-” A sudden rumble interrupted the grey Rainbow’s words. As soon as the rumble ended, the expression on her face changed to one of pure horror. “Oh no. Rainbow. Whatever happens, never forget th-”
The copy disappeared into thin air without warning as the world around her shattered into fragments like glass. Rainbow desperately looked around her. She now stood on an invisible floor with pure white space all around her.
“W-What’s going on!? Anypony!?” She yelled out into the empty space but only found the distinct reply of her own voice. “Hello!? Somepony!? Anypony!?”
Suddenly, she heard a rattling sound echo near her. She froze in fear, recognizing that rattling sound instantly.
“No! No I won’t let you take me!” Rainbow screamed, running as fast as she could away from where she thought the sound was coming from. However, mere seconds later she felt something wrap around her back-left hoof, tightening it till she felt pain going through her body. Her screams were only intensified when she felt the same cold metal wrap around her back-right hoof, immobilizing her on the ground she stood.
“No! Stop! Please! I’ll do anything!” However, her begs were turned quickly into tears when two long, rusty chains shot out from the light, wrapping around both of her forehooves and slamming them to the ground. “No! I-I don’t want to hurt anypony anymore!” However, it was too late. Her tears and her broken tone did nothing except making her feel even more helpless.
Rainbow struggled as best she could but the more she tried to break free, the tighter the chains seem to get. All of a sudden, a large tear appeared in front of Rainbow’s face in the air, creating a huge hole for her to gaze through. The hole showed her rising from the fabric she had slept on in the harsh reality with the storm still raging hard.
“T-That’s…That’s my view. That’s through my eyes!! Stop it! Don’t you dare hurt-” The vision through the tear showed ‘Rainbow’ turning around, facing a shocked Applejack.
“No. Applejack run! Run away from me! Leave!!” She screamed into the tear in front of her, struggling against the chains so hard that it had almost started to cut into her skin. But it was no use, she could only watch with tear filled eyes and a guilt ridden heart as ‘Rainbow’ leaned down to pick up a razor-sharp rock…
Applejack laid silently in the rain. To her right sat Rainbow, still unconscious and stationery from her injuries. The only sounds that echoed through the small campsite was the falling of rain and the occasional boom of thunder. Every few seconds Applejack would shut her eyes tight and glance back at Rainbow, hoping to see the walls of her room and not the Pegasus, beaten and bruised. To Applejack, this all felt like a dream, a nightmare.
Mud had covered almost her entire body, hiding the light-orange coat from view but this didn’t bother her, she was more than comfortable of the feeling of dirt on her coat. She turned her head once more towards Rainbow. However, this time Rainbow starting stirring. Applejack stood up, steeling herself for the scream of pain she thought would come, but instead, Rainbow’s movements became larger and the scream never came.
“R-Rainbow!?” Applejack called out in surprise as Rainbow stood up, seemingly void of the feeling of pain. “Rainbow! H-How...W-What...” She didn’t know how to react to what was happening in front of her eyes. Less than a hour ago, Rainbow couldn’t move an inch without feeling pain, much less stand on her own four hooves.
“Applejack.” Rainbow’s voice was soft, her breathing was slow and taken in large breaths. She tilted her head slightly downwards, obstructing her magenta eyes with her multi-colored mane. Rainbow took a few steps backwards, exiting the warmth of the makeshift shelter and into the cold night rain.
“Rainbow! You need to rest! You’re hurt! How are you even...”
“Just like you Applejack. Always telling other ponies what to do, thinking they’ll do it.”
“W-What!? Rainbow Ah would never-”
“You were always my friend Applejack but now I see that you’re just bossy, stuck-up and useless, just like the rest of them.”
Applejack held back her rage. She knew deep inside that this wasn’t Rainbow Dash, the loyal and steadfast Pegasus. Taking a breath in, she spoke again.
“Rainbow snap out of it! This ain’t you! You would never say stuff like this!” Applejack tried her best to coax her best friend back.
“And what if it is me Applejack? What if this is what I’ve been wanting to say since I met you?” The words that Rainbow muttered were like sharp swords, stabbing Applejack’s heart and forcing her to reject that that may even be a possibility. “Did I hurt your feelings?”
Applejack didn’t respond, closing her eyes as she took another deep breath. Rainbow glanced down at the ground and spotted a small rock which grew into a razor-sharp tip, capable of slicing through skin in an instant. Upon turning back up and seeing that Applejack had her eyes closed, she reached down with her hoof to grasp the dangerous weapon in her hoof, pulling it out of the mud.
“I thought you prided yourself on being strong? On being tough?” Her sarcastic tone made it all that much worse for Applejack to listen to, feeling herself breaking at each word which escaped Rainbow’s lips. The words were said with no remorse, no restraint. “The truth is you’re weak, weaker than any of us. You always think you can be strong but when push comes to shove, you would abandon us all in an instant just because you feel helpless.”
‘No I wouldn’t!’ Applejack shouted in her mind and her heart but for some reason, the words never left her mouth. Whatever Rainbow said pushed Applejack back another step, as if they were strong gusts of wind and the Earth Pony was trying her best to stand her ground.
“So tell me Applejack. Can you take a little...” Rainbow dashed forward towards Applejack. “...pain!?” Applejack turned and opened her eyes just in time to see Rainbow come down on her with the pointed stone, opening a large wound on the right side of Applejack’s face and pushing her back, landing in the mud a short distance away.
----------
“No!” Rainbow struggled against the chains with all her might, warm tears streaming down her face like a river. “Stop please! I’m begging you!” In front of her, the hole which had been ripped in the air showed her attacking Applejack and opening the wound. A trail of blood laid in front of her. The chains held fast, restraining the Pegasus’s valiant attempt at escape.
“Applejack run! Get away! Kill me! Do something!” Her pleads went unheard, only echoing through the endless white space around her. “Please!” she begged, “Whoever’s doing this stop! I’ll do anything! Anything!! Don’t hurt them anymore!” Rainbow struggled as she cried out into the empty space around her.
----------
The screams that tore through the stormy night came from Applejack, who could feel the warm blood rush down the right side of her face, inches away from her eye as she pressed against the wound. Her breaths were quick and short, her hooves trembling from the pain which surged through her body. Turning her head upwards, she saw Rainbow walking towards her, her face showing no remorse for what she had just done. In her right hoof gripped the weapon which had now be stained bright red from her victim’s blood.
Applejack tried her best to stand on her hooves, her left hoof still pressed over the right side of her face, hiding the wound from Rainbow.
“That was just a bit of what I had to go through. All the while you sit, thinking that you’re the hardest worker. You have no idea how much pain I had to go through...”
“R-Rainbow! Ah care for you! Why are you doing this!?” Applejack questioned.
“Why!?” Rainbow shouted in anger. “Because I want you to experience the pain I had to go through all my life. I want all of you to experience it. Now fight back Applejack. You know you want to.” She tempted the orange mare.
Applejack stood silent, her emotions of anger and sadness were close to taking over her body, wanting to hit Rainbow in the face.
“N-No...” Applejack whispered under her breath. “Ah won’t fight you Rainbow. You’re my friend and Ah won’t fight you.”
“W-What!?” Rainbow responded with a shocked expression. In a quick motion, she dropped the stone and tackled Applejack onto the muddy ground they stood on, pinning all of her limbs down to the floor as she stood over her. Applejack could only let out a small whimper at the sudden force on her back. The wound finally showed for all to see, the large gash which had appeared very close to Applejack’s right eye had stained almost the entire right side of her face a sickening dark red. The blood continued to flow, although less than when the wound first opened. It dripped onto the ground beneath them.
“Fight back Applejack. Admit it, you’ve always wanted to! Attack me. Let your emotions control you.”
“N-No! Ah won’t attack you Rainbow! You’re my friend! You’re more than a friend! Ah want you back, sugercube! Ah want the pony who would do anything for her friends!” Applejack paused, seeing no change in Rainbow’s expression. “B-But if she’s gone then... kill me. Ah ain’t got no reason to live if the Rainbow Ah knew ain’t coming back. Ah won’t resist. Ah promise.” Applejack closed her eyes, accepting the strike that would probably come, preparing for the agony she might feel.
----------
“Ah won’t resist. Ah promise.”
The words caused Rainbow to cease her struggling for a moment, feeling a part of her die as the words crossed her ears. “N-No...” She mumbled to herself. “No!” She continued her attempt to break free of the chains, trying so hard that only a few seconds in had the chains begun to cut into her skin, causing the familiar red substance to flow. However, this did not slow her down. Her body was numb to the pain that should have ran through her body but instead she tried harder and harder, the chains digging deeper and deeper into her wound.
Until at last, she heard it. The first sound of her success.
Ping
The chain which had wrapped her back right hoof had broken. This provided Rainbow with enough leverage to rush forward, tugging onto the rest of her chains with all her might. The pain had slowly started to catch up with her but she passed it off quickly in her mind, the thought of the imposter in her body taking Applejack’s life gave her immense strength.
As she continued her struggle, the sound of another chain breaking, this time on her front left hoof, resonated throughout the white space she was in. She continued her effort and within a few more seconds, the last two chains broke. Giving her enough freedom to charge through the tear in the air in front of her which showed the defeated Earth Pony.
“Applejack!” She yelled as she flew towards the gap. As soon as she entered the hole, she felt a warm bright light enveloping her before everything went dark.
----------
To Applejack’s surprise, she felt the pressure on her hooves disappear. Opening her eyes once again, she saw that Rainbow had collapsed onto the ground next to her, her face twisted in a way Applejack had never seen before. It was clear, even in the darkness, that Rainbow was in extreme amounts of pain, the mud soaking into the wounds that were present.
Applejack wasted no time in walking on weak hooves towards her friend and trying to get Rainbow on her back. Each facial movement Applejack made brought a surge of pain through her body, the wound slowly stopped leaking blood. She leaned down close to Rainbow and slid her hoof underneath her friend and pulled as hard as she could. She barely managed to get Rainbow on her back, buckling her legs and threatening to have her collapse on the very ground she stood on.
Applejack bit the bottom of her lip and turned her sight towards the shelter which set a short distance away. She took the first step with the pegasus on her back and almost immediately, she lowered herself inches away from the ground in torment. The one step had strained Applejack’s already exhausted hooves from the weight of the pegasus. She bit her bottom lip harder as she took another step, resulting in an even worse outcome, threatening to leave both of them helpless in the mud. With the thought of Rainbow in her mind, she forced herself to take one agonizing step after another.
Finally reaching the shelter, Applejack slid Rainbow slowly onto the fabric, shielding her from the harsh storm that was still raging around them. She leaned forward, softly nuzzling Rainbow and even though the pegasus was silent, it was still clear to Applejack that she was conscious and in so much pain that she was unable to make even the slightest sound.
Applejack stared at Rainbow, her heart in pieces at the sight of her friend. She was also prepared to crumble onto the ground and sleep the pain away. Suddenly, the faint sound of the snapping branches and rustling bushes caught her attention, causing her to jump back and lift her right hoof over her right eye, hiding her wound from view.
“Whose there!? Ah warn you! If you’re here to hurt me, I ain’t going down without a fight.” Applejack was scared, she knew she stood no chance at anyone who would be looking for a fight but she continued putting on a strong front.
“Relax, darling. It’s just us.” A familiar voice called out from the bushes. Not long after, the familiar white unicorn appeared with Twilight and Fluttershy, who was carrying Pinkie.
“W-What happened!?” Applejack asked, worried after seeing Pinkie’s burn on her flank and the many small wounds on Rarity.
“Nothing major. How’s Rainbow?” Twilight asked, looking at the hurt mare lying near lifeless on the fabric. She immediately noticed that Rainbow was out of her Shadowbolt suit, though this only displayed her wounds which made Twilight cringe at the sight.
“She’s fine.” Applejack replied quickly, keeping her right hoof pressed against the right side of her face. Twilight moved silently away from the rest of them, sitting at the edge of the clearing with her face turned away from her friends.
“Oh, Applejack. Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked meekly.
“Yeah, sugercube. Ah’m fine.”
“Then why are you pressing your hoof against your face?”
“It-It’s nothing.” Applejack trotted up to the pink pony, who had her gaze turned away from Applejack. “What about you Pinkie? Ya doing all right?”
Pinkie nodded in silence. The awkward feeling between the two former friends was immediately noticed by Fluttershy as she stood with her mouth wide open.
“Ah got some medicine for minor burns in my saddlebag. I’ll go get-”
“No!” Pinkie shouted, stunning Fluttershy and causing Applejack to freeze in place. “I mean... I don’t need it now. I’ll be fine.” Pinkie whispered under her breath, which nopony had ever heard her do before.
“A-All right Pinkie. Well, if ya need anything I’ll be-”
“Okay.” Pinkie interrupted, causing Applejack to walk away. Unbeknownst to the pink pony, her reaction had driven the orange mare to the edge of tears.
Applejack walked towards Rarity, who had her whole attention on Rainbow.
“Heya, Rarity?”
“Yes, Applejack? May I help you?”
“Would ya mind if I talk to you for a few minutes? Alone?” Rarity wondered why Applejack would request such a thing but nodded her head in agreement as they wandered off into a nearby clearing.
----------
“What is it, Applejack?”
“Ah need your help.” Applejack turned away from Rarity, preparing for the worse.
“Anything, darling.”
“But you have to promise me you won’t tell Twilight or any other pony.”
“I promise.”
“Pinkie promise?”
Rarity trotted towards Applejack, putting her hoof on her shoulder and causing the tangerine mare to turn around.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Rarity chanted with a warm smile. Applejack returned a similar, but more broken, smile of her own.
“O-Okay...” Applejack slowly lowered her right hoof, revealing the gash to Rarity. Upon seeing the wound, Rarity’s smile turned into a frown of horror.
“Applejack!? What happened!?”
“Shhhh!” Applejack quickly reacted.
“Did...Did Rainbow do this to you?” Rarity’s hooves felt weak just looking at the blood red color that had covered Applejack’s orange coat.
“Well, yes... but no! Ah mean, Rainbow wasn’t herself when she did this. Something was wrong. It was like another pony took over her. Ah’m guessing it was...”
“...the green liquid in the syringe.” Rarity finished Applejack’s sentence. Applejack could only nod in regret.
“Ah need you to heal this wound Rarity.” Applejack stated. Rarity took a few steps forward, analyzing the cut with squinted eyes.
“I’m afraid I can’t heal it completely. Truly sorry, darling. The only way for me to heal it completely is for me to use one of the two forbidden spells and... well...” Rarity took a step backwards, allowing Applejack to see the dark red cuts which adorned her coat. “You can see what it did to me when I used it on Fluttershy.”
Applejack looked down in disappointment.
“I can, however, heal it as best I could.”
“Are ya sure? Ah mean if it hurts you Ah’d really rather not.”
“It won’t. Its just a minor healing spell I use all the time. When you have a sister like Sweetie Belle its’ imperative that you-” Rarity stopped mid-sentence and without warning, a stray tear fell from her eye.
“R-Rarity? What’s wrong, sugercube?”
“It’s...It’s Sweetie Belle. I asked several ponies around town to go and look after her while I was away but the more I think about it,” Her voice broke in between sobs, “the more I imagine her, alone in the boutique, hurt with nopony to take care of her. I miss my sister.”
Applejack leaned forward and raised her hoof around Rarity, giving a unicorn a huge hug.
“Ah’m sure Sweetie’s alright, sugercube. All we need to do is finish this mission and we can go back to our families. Ah miss mine a mighty lot too.”
There was only silence for the new few minutes as Rarity cried herself dry.
“Thank you, darling. I needed that.”
“No problem, sugercube. We all need to do that once in awhile. Ya ready to cast the spell?”
“Y-Yes.” Rarity replied, wiping off the last of her tears. “This won’t hurt, I promise.” As Rarity’s horn glew a bright blue, she placed in centermeters away from Applejack’s wound. Soon, a soft blue light had enveloped the wound and begun healing it, fixing back small pieces of skin and drying the blood quickly. After a few seconds, Rarity pulled her head back, the large gash having been reduced to a smaller but still very noticeable laceration.
“That’s all I can do. Do you feel better?”
Applejack could feel herself somehow gaining quite a bit more strength, allowing her to stand without shaky hooves and move around without feeling small, painful stings.
“I feel a might better. Thank ya, Rarity.”
“Anytime. Now we ought to get back to the girls, they might be worried about us.”
“Ah hear ya.” Applejack replied as they trotted back to the campsite.
----------
Tears were flowing down Fluttershy’s cheeks. The heavy rain masking the visible tears but her louds sobs and whimpers gave her away. She stood in front of Rainbow, Pinkie on her back being the only thing motivating her to stay on her hooves.
“Hey, Flutters. She’ll be okay.”
“N-N-No...S-She w-w-w-” Fluttershy couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Flutters. How about we go somewhere else first? Blaming yourself isn’t going to do anything.”
“B-B-B-But R-R-Rainb-bow-”
“Come on Flutters. Let’s go over there.” Pinkie pointed to a small tree fairly close to the shelter. Fluttershy nodded reluctantly and trotted slowly towards the destination.
Upon reaching, she sat Pinkie down at the base of the tree, making sure to face the burn towards her and ensuring it does not touch the muddy floor.
“Feel better, Flutters?” Pinkie asked with a worried tone.
“W-W-What happened?”
“To Rainbow? I think she-”
“No, Pinkie! W-What happened... to you and AJ?”
“N-nothing happened.” Pinkie lied, turning her gaze towards the cold ground she lay on.
“Don’t lie to me!” The command struck fear into Pinkie’s heart, never hearing Fluttershy talk to her in such a tone before. “When you and AJ were talking I could feel something was wrong! You both acted like strangers! You both acted like you had never seen each other before! What’s wrong Pinkie!?”
Pinkie recoiled at what Fluttershy said, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before she explained.
“A-Applejack cursed you. She said that you were probably alone, hurt and wishing I’d be there. I wanted to believe that it wasn’t true but somehow I knew it was. The thought of you, injured and alone in the cold forest just broke me and...and I couldn’t forgive her, even after she apologized.” Pinkie admitted.
“B-But she’s your friend! And I’m fine!”
“I’m sorry, Flutters. I just....I can’t accept her apology, not now.” Pinkie said with her eyes closed. Fluttershy stood in front of the pink mare, not saying a word or moving a hoof.
“Pinkie, can you at least promise me something else?”
“W-What is it?” Pinkie opened her eyes to stare at the yellow pegasus.
“Can you be Pinkie Pie again?” Fluttershy requested with tear filled eyes.
“What are you talking about, Flutters? I am Pinkie Pie!” She responded, confused.
“No! I want the Pinkie I know back. The one who smiles, the one who is happy when everything else goes wrong. The pony who wants to see her friends smile and tries her best to do anything to make that happen. I want that Pinkie back.”
“I...I’m not sure that I can get that Pinkie back...”
“Please.” Fluttershy begged.
“Y-You’re right. There’s no reason for me to be all mopey-wopey! Everypony’s so down I need to cheer them up!” Pinkie shouted with a large grin on her face. Fluttershy kneeled down and gave Pinkie Pie, the real Pinkie Pie, a big hug.
“Promise me you’ll stay like this? For us? For me?”
“I promise!” Pinkie replied chirpily.
“Pinkie promise?”
In a heart’s beat, Pinkie chanted the familiar tune.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie’s big eyes and wide smile brought tears, tears of joy, to Fluttershy’s eyes.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Flutters!” As Fluttershy walked towards Rainbow, she could hear Pinkie humming her own little tune, shaking her head back and forth as she sung.
“It’s nice to have you back, Pinkie.” Fluttershy whispered under her breath as she reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a roll of bandages. Just then, Rarity and Applejack appeared behind them. Applejack immediately walked up to Pinkie.
“Feeling better, sugercube?” Applejack asked the surprisingly chipper pony.
“Oh yeah! Much!” The bright reply was one that Applejack was not expecting. “And AJ... can I have that burn medicine you were talking about?”
Applejack didn’t know how to reply at first, having to think about what Pinkie had just said over in her mind. “Y-Yeah...S-Sure...” was all Applejack could muster out from her lips. As she leaned to her saddlebag to pick up the medicine, she couldn’t help but smile.
Rarity walked towards a tree behind the shelter, sitting down and resting her head as Fluttershy trotted up to Rainbow. With the bandages gripped in her mouth, she starting wrapping the first few strips around Rainbow’s wing....
The storm which raged for the past day had finally ceased, leaving behind a chilling atmosphere which was unforgiving on the wounds of the ponies who gathered on the forest ground. The only noise keeping still silence at bay was Rainbow Dash’s barely audible groans and winces as blood continued to trickle down from under her left wing. The former bright purple fabric Rainbow laid on had turned a sickly red in certain areas and had completely lost its shine.
Fluttershy sat beside Rainbow, holding her breath to prevent more tears from flowing out of her eyes. Her hooves trembled immensely as she popped open her saddlebag and gripped a roll of bandages in her mouth. Turning back around, the mere sight of Rainbow’s condition almost caused her to release the bandage and grip her head in tears. Rainbow’s bright cyan coat was no longer bright, it had faded into an almost grey color.
‘It’s from all the days of travelling...’ Fluttershy lied to herself in her mind. The upper half of both of Rainbow’s wings had been scorched a jet black, forcing her to leave her wings unfolded as they slumped lifelessly over her body. It looked as if her wings were ready to turn into a coffin for the pegasus. Underneath Rainbow’s left wing was a huge wound, blood flowing like a small red river onto the fabric beneath. The wound had previously healed but Rainbow’s recent movements on her assault on Applejack had reopened the gash, sending waves of pain throughout her body.
Rainbow’s signature six colored mane and tail had also lost its striking brightness and hue as with each passing moment, the colors appeared to fade into the air around her, disappearing forever into the starry night sky.
“N-Now this, this will hurt for just a moment...” Fluttershy tried her best to reassure her friend through the roll of bandages in her mouth, even though she knew Rainbow probably couldn’t hear her. Quickly, Fluttershy leaned forward, pressing a bandage on to Rainbow’s under-wing gash and as she did, Rainbow released a bloodcurdling scream into the night sky. Fluttershy shut her eyes as tears started to flow, her ears falling close as the bandage started to turn into a dark blood red.
A short distance away sat Rarity, her white coat had been tainted with various bloodstains and cuts. She was unsure which were hers and which were Fluttershy’s but she honestly didn’t care. As Rainbow’s scream echoed into the night sky, she shut her eyes tightly, preventing any sort of tears to form. She couldn’t bear to open her eyes to see her injured friends. What added salt to the wound was the thought of Sweetie Belle, alone in the boutique every night.
‘Oh Sweetie Belle, I do hope you’re all right.’ Rarity pleaded in her head, hoping that somepony would hear her thoughts and give her a sign that her dear sister was safe and sound. The more she thought about it, the worst she felt. She finally opened her eyes once again after some dreadful thoughts, this time directing her gaze Pinkie Pie, who lay to her right a few feet away who was getting treated by Applejack.
“Hold still okay, Sugercube?” Applejack whispered to Pinkie Pie, whose pink mane and tail was no longer curly or puffy. Pinkie’s eyes were closed shut as Applejack brought a white cloth to her flank. The area the white hot lightning burned had now begun to bleed, the burnt flesh, blood and pus was a sickening sight to anypony which saw it. The cloth Applejack gripped had been dipped in a solution meant to treat burns, giving it a dark brown shade. Slowly, she placed the cloth over Pinkie’s wound as she bit hard on the bottom of her lip, wincing as the medicine seeped into the burn.
“You’ll start to feel might better when the medicine starts working. Now don’t Ya be moving an inch until I say you can.” Applejack sternly instructed.
“Thanks Applejack! I didn’t think being burnt would hurt so terribly-bebbily much!” A large grin grew on Pinkie’s face, completely taking Applejack off guard. A mere day or two ago, Pinkie wouldn’t even crack a smile, especially not after Applejack cursed Fluttershy.
“P-Pinkie, how can ya be smiling at a time like this?” Applejack inquired.
“Well, duhh!” Pinkie responded in her usual fashion. “Everypony else is being mopey wopey so I figured ‘Hey! It’s already happened, so why don’t I smile and cheer everypony up!?’” Pinkie said happily, kicking her hooves around. “Besides, Twilight’s been the mopiest of us all...” Pinkie used her hoof to point to Twilight, who was lying on the ground, tears flowing down her face. Applejack approached the purple mare.
“Heya Twi, you doing okay?”
“No.” Twilight sobbed, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I never wanted any of you to end up like this. This was my task. I’m responsible.” Twilight closed her eyes shut, her face turning away from Applejack.
Applejack lifted her hoof and allowed it to rest on Twilight’s back. “Now Twi, when we came with you we all knew the risks,” Applejack reassured her. She half expected Twilight to toss her hoof away but Twilight merely sat there, unmoving. “,ain’t no way should you feel sad about what has happened. We’all will get through this together Twilight...”
Twilight slowly turned her head to finally give the orange mare a glance and upon doing so, her mouth dropped open. On the right on Applejack’s face was the cut Rainbow had given her. Even though the blood was dried and the cut was smaller than it originally was, it still chipped another part of Twilight’s heart away. “AJ, your face,”
“Huh?” Applejack lifted her hoof to the wound, realizing she had forgotten all about it. Desperately, she tried to find a way to explain, knowing Twilight would over-react.
‘Ah knew Ah should have covered it.’ Applejack blamed herself.
“Oh that? Its nothing Twi, it’ll heal back.”
“It’s-It’s not nothing! Applejack...” Twilight scanned her eyes over to the other ponies who lay scattered in front of her. Fluttershy was tending to the heavily wounded Rainbow Dash, Rarity laid against a tree, drifting off to sleep while Pinkie Pie laid on the ground next to her as she started to hum her own little tune, bouncing her head back and forth.
Fluttershy had begun to wrap Rainbow’s left wing. With each round of the bandage, Rainbow would scream louder and louder. She felt as if somepony was driving a huge knife through her wing each time. Each scream started to eat away at Fluttershy’s sanity and heart, threatening to shatter the already fragile pegasus. To see the pony she always thought of as the strongest act so defeated did nothing to save her breaking mental state.
“It...it hurts...” Rainbow managed to mutter throught the searing pain that was present throughout her body. She closed her eyes tightly, small droplets of blood dripped from the edge of her lips. “It hurts so much. Just...just let me go... I can’t take this anymore.” Fluttershy shattered. She released the bandage which ,just moments ago, she clutched in her mouth. Her breath started to quicken and became more shallow, tears flowed down her face like a waterfall. She crouched down onto the muddy ground, forcing her ears shut with her hooves.
“I-I don’t want to do this anymore! I don’t want to hurt my friends! Please, somepony make this stop!” Fluttershy dug her face deeper into the ground. Rarity awoke from the loud sounds of Fluttershy’s begging. Rushing over, she tied off the bandages on both of Rainbow’s wings. However, Rainbow’s tail and mane had continued to lose its color. The indigo shade had all but vanished ,leaving behind a grey trail of where it once used to be.
“I...” Twilight tried to gather her thoughts. “We’re going home.” She stood up immediately, leaving Applejack with her mouth agape, her hooves rooted firmly to the ground.
“Come again, Twi?” Applejack squinted her eyes to the purple unicorn who was walking away from her. “I thought I heard you say that you give up?”
“That’s what I said.” Twilight spun around as she reached Fluttershy. “Look at us AJ, look at all of us. We’re tired, injured and one of us could very well die if we don’t get out of here!” Twilight glanced quickly at Rainbow before glancing back. She lifted her saddlebags onto her back.
“Twilight, you never give up!” Applejack yelled, hoping to get some sense back into Twilight.
“Well, now I’m going to.” Twilight responded without hesitation, her tone made Applejack understand that she was not joking.
“Twilight, you mean to tell me we went through all of that just for you to walk out on us!?” Applejack tried to look Twilight eye-to-eye but the unicorn turned her head, not wanting to look at Applejack any longer.
“If we proceed any further...” Twilight’s mind was in a mess. “I...I just can’t see you guys like this.”
“Twilight, darling. When we said we were with you to the very end, we meant it.” Rarity said with a smile.
“Yup! And we aren’t going anywhere!” Pinkie chirpily shouted with a smile.
“I never expected anything less from you guys. I know you guys will stick with me till the very end, that’s why I’m calling it now.” Fluttershy regained some of her composure and turned her head upwards, staring at Twilight with tear-filled eyes. “This is the end.”
The other ponies watched as Twilight trotted to the edge of the forest, the same clearing from which they came from. Applejack wanted to argue, she wanted to convince Twilight to continue on but another glance at Rainbow brought her will down to zero.
“A...Ah think Twilight’s right...” Applejack solemnly admitted. “Rainbow’s our friend and if we don’t find help, she’s not gonna make it.”
“I-I afraid to admit it but Twilight’s right.” Rarity supported, reluctantly.
“You girls can’t just give up! We could... We could...”
“We could what, Pinkie!?” Twilight directed her loud voice towards the pink pony. “Rainbow’s close to dying! We’re leaving now!”
There was nothing but silence. Pinkie’s smile vanished for a quick second, her eyes filled with fear and anger but she quickly reverted back to her normal self after Rarity trotted up and nuzzled her lightly.
“Girls. Let’s go. Now!” Twilight’s loud voice commanded the girls. Without another word, they started to pack their saddlebags with a heavy, guilt-ridden heart. All, that is, except for one mare.
“No.” Everypony spun around in shock, recognizing the voice but their mind couldn’t comprehend if it was the same pony talking back.
“Fluttershy! What do you mean ‘no’!?” Twilight angrily asked.
“I mean, no.” Fluttershy stood up on her hooves, her face showing a wide array of emotions which was stirring within her. “I am not going to leave.”
Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity only stood in shock and awe as Fluttershy took steps closer to Twilight.
“Fluttershy, this isn’t the time for you to-” Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Fluttershy interrupted with a strong and determined voice.
“Twilight. Rainbow flew up into the sky, not because she was angry at us laughing at her during the campfire, but because she wanted to find Gryphus so that we wouldn’t have to travel anymore. She had the best intentions at heart, she always did. She put her life on the line just so we would be able to reach our destination quicker.” Turning around to glance at Rainbow’s fading colors, her heart sank deeper. “And that line is close to breaking.”
“That’s why we need to go back! That’s our only chance to save Rainbow!”
“Twilight. Have you forgotten why we’re on this mission. This isn’t about us, its about the fate of Equestria. If the Griffins send the dragons to us...”
“I know what the mission is, Fluttershy! You don’t have to remind me! But the mission isn’t as important as my friends!”
“This-This isn’t you, Twilight. You were always the logical pony. Then tell me, is it worth saving one pony’s life but risk millions?”
There was not a word uttered from anypony. Even the wind seemed to have ceased its howling.
“If you leave now, I’m not coming with you. I want to see Rainbow fine, I want to see her fly again, laughing as we always did. I want to see her strong-willed, brash personality again. We all do, Twilight... but giving up now isn’t going to bring her back. She is fighting for her life right now and I’m sure she wouldn’t want to wake up to see that we’ve given up, it would have made her risk worthless.” Fluttershy gulped. “You can leave, I’m not stopping you. But I’m going to at least try to make Rainbow’s sacrifice worthwhile.”
“F-Fluttershy...I...” Twilight couldn’t find any words to describe her feelings at that moment.
“I’m going with, Fluttershy.” Pinkie said in a serious tone.
“Ah’m going too.” Applejack added without a second thought.
“And so am I. I just cannot bear to throw away our hard work.” Rarity supported.
“Twilight.” Fluttershy stared at Twilight with begging eyes. “You’re right. We will always stand beside you. Now, could you please do the same? For us?”
Twilight took several seconds, running through her thoughts, her beliefs, the events that unfolded the past three days and in one deep breath, she replied.
“Let’s go. Let’s go, to Gryphus.” The words brought a huge grin to everypony’s face as Twilight trotted back to her friends.
“T-Thank you...Twilight...” Fluttershy’s meek voice seemed to return to her.
“Girls, pack your saddlebags. Fluttershy, you carry Pinkie. Rarity, levitate Rainbow onto Applejack’s back. Then we’ll try to find a way out of here.”
Immediately, the other ponies got to work on Twilight’s instructions, ready to venture into the forest once more...
----------
The night sky seemed to become even darker when Twilight and the others broke through the trees.
“G-Girls! Look!” Twilight pointed to the ground in front of her, which had a clear dirt path on it. “A road!”
“D-Do you think it’s safe to follow the road?” Fluttershy asked, worried. “What if those griffins find us?”
“We don’t have a choice, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy nodded her head, knowing that Twilight was correct. The only hope left for them was to follow the dirt road, hopefully leading to the town they so desperately needed to be in.
“Darling, how in Equestria are we supposed to know which direction to walk in? And how do we know that it’ll lead us to Gryphus?” Rarity asked.
“I-I don’t know.” Twilight admitted.
“Duhhhh. Have faith!” Pinkie responded with a cheerful grin, bopping her head back and forth as Fluttershy carried her.
“Girls! We have a problem!” Applejack yelled to get the other’s attention. Laying Rainbow onto the grass next to the road, the problem was clear as day. Rainbow’s mane and tail had lost another color, this time they were the blue shade, turning into a dull and lifeless shade of grey. It was clear that the other colors would soon follow. The ponies knew what would happen when the final color faded away, though they pushed the thought away.
“If we don’t find help, Rainbow ain’t gonna make it!”
Suddenly, as if on cue, the sound of flapping wings and wood hitting dirt resonated through the night sky. Twilight glanced down the road and in a swirl of emotions, she saw a faint light in the distance, rapidly approaching them. In a fit of desperation, she jumped onto the road, her face showing her resolve. The other ponies reached to pull Twilight out of the way but Twilight held strong. Staring at the growing bright light, her eyes could finally make out a familiar shape. The shape of a Griffin...
The light that approached the group increased in intensity with each passing second. Twilight stood on the road, her determined eyes staring straight at the light.
“Twilight! Get out of the way!” Rarity shouted, but Twilight stood firm. As the shape of the griffin appeared, it only tempted her to leap out of the way to safety. What if it was him? The griffin that caused suffering and grief to her and her friends?
The thing that was approaching her started to become clear. The griffin was not dressed in any sort of armor and also lacked any menacing gaze in his eyes. He was pulling along a large wagon, cuboid in shape and holding presumably his goods. A lantern hung off one end of the wagon, just behind him, the only source of light in the darkness of the forest they were all too familiar with.
“Twilight! He’s not noticing you!” Rarity yelled as loud as she could. She prepared to charge forward, tackling Twilight away to safety but turning her head to her right and seeing Rainbow’s third color fade away, it only forced her to remember that this was something that needed to be done.
The griffin squinted his eyes and could barely make out an odd, small shape in front of him. As he travelled closer, his eyes widened at the clear sight of the figure. The details of her purple coat and horn clear to him. He dug his claws deep into the ground, hoping to slow himself down enough to avoid the pony that stood, firm in front of him.
Twilight didn’t twitch as the griffin came within inches away from her face before halting. Her friends, however, were not as sure as she was, yelling in desperation for Twilight to dive away before letting out a sigh of relief as the cart came to a stop, barely avoiding Twilight.
“Get out of my way, pony!” The griffin’s voice didn’t seem different from any others she had heard. Low, booming, commanding. Twilight felt an immense amount of fear, but one quick glance at Rainbow brought her motivation back.
“Please, we need a ride to Gryphus!” Twilight begged, not wanting to waste any time Rainbow might have left.
The griffin scoffed. “Ponies are not welcomed in Gryphus! Now get out of my way!”
“Please, I’m begging you. We need a ride to Gryphus.” Twilight stared up at the griffin with pleading eyes.
“And why should I give it to you?”
“Because my friend won’t make it if we don’t get there.” Twilight stared at Rainbow, who seemed lifeless as she laid on the grass. Fluttershy stood next to her, her muzzle lowered onto Rainbow as she stared at her with tear-filled eyes.
When the griffin saw the injured cyan pony, his glare changed from one of anger to one of pity. His eyesbrows raised and arched away from each other, his beak hung slightly open. When he turned back to the purple unicorn in front of him, he was met with another plea.
“Please. I’ll give you anything you want if you would just take us to Gryphus. She needs medical attention or she’ll...” Twilight swallowed the last of her words, tears of her own at the edge of her eyes.
The griffin went silent for a few seconds, but each second of silence sounded like an eternity for Twilight, who desperately needed this one kind act. She prayed in her mind to Celestia for this.
“I...” Twilight braced herself for what the griffin might say. “Get in.”
The words caused everypony to look up to the griffin, whose gaze was locked onto Rainbow.
“You’ll-You’ll take us?” Twilight was on the edge of crying out of joy.
The griffin gave a short nod.
That was all that was needed to send tears flowing down Twilight’s face. “Thank you so much!”
“Quickly, get inside the wagon. It serves as a warm shelter for all of you,” the griffin commanded, which Twilight happily followed.
“Girls! Inside! Now!” Twilight continued the command, her hooves shaking terribly. Fluttershy quickly lifted Pinkie onto her back and trotted into the wagon, with Applejack following closely, Rainbow Dash unmoving on her back. Rarity followed closely and just as Twilight was about to step in herself, she heard the griffin call out to her.
“Purple unicorn, would you mind sitting at the top of the wagon? I have some questions.”
Twilight paused for a moment, but was afraid to offend him and their only way to Gryphus. She climbed onto the top of the wagon, just behind the griffin as he continued to walk forward at a much slower pace then he was before.
Twilight sat in awkward silence for a good few minutes, the only sound was the wooden wheels with squeaked and shook every time it ran over even the smallest of rocks. The griffin walked silently, his eyes fixated on the dirt road in front of him. Twilight didn’t know whether to speak up, or wait. As the uncomfortable feeling of sitting there, staring at the identical trees that passed her by, soaked in, she finally decided to speak up.
“Umm, Mr Griffin, sir?”
“Call me Rolant.”
“R-Rolant,” Twilight corrected herself, “you said you had questions for me?”
“Yes, I do,” he answered, never breaking his sight on the road. “Forgive me for the silence. I was collecting my thoughts.”
“Well, I’ll answer whatever questions they may be,” Twilight replied, a smile on her face. “Thank you, for doing this. If you hadn't come along, we would be-”
“No need for thanks, Miss...?” The griffin paused, hoping for his sentence to be completed.
“Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle.”
“What an odd name, Miss Sparkle.”
“Call me, Twilight,” she insisted.
“Very well. Twilight, the most obvious question would be, what were all of you doing in the middle of the Duskbringer Forest at night?”
“Duskbringer Forest?” Twilight repeated.
“Yes, that is the name of this forest that we’re in.”
“O-Oh.” Twilight turned her head away from the griffin. “We’re... on a mission.”
“Interesting. Then, what is your goal in Gryphus? Or is that part of a mission too?”
“Yes, it is,” Twilight answered.
“Oh, very well. Next question.”
The words the griffin muttered caught Twilight entirely off-guard. She was sure that she knew what the next question was going to be. On impulse, she asked.
“Aren’t you going to try to ask what the mission is?”
The griffin shook his head lightly. “I’ve lived for a long time, seen many things, been part of many events that have happened over the years in the Griffin Kingdoms. From all my years of experience, I have found never to dug into ‘missions’ that do not include me.” Twilight didn’t reply, for she didn’t know how.
“What happened to your friend? That blue pony.”
“R-Rainbow? Oh she was attacked.” Twilight closed her eyes shut as she said the words.
“Attacked? What could possibly have done that much damage to her?”
Twilight didn’t want to answer. “I’d...rather not say.”
“Why not?”
“You’ll get mad.”
“I won’t, I promise,” Roland assured the unicorn.
Twilight didn’t know why, but she felt like she could trust him. She took one deep breath before answering.
“A griffin.”
Twilight braced for Roland to yell in anger, spin around or abandon her friends altogether. She closed her eyes and prepared for a backlash, but none came. Opening her eyes, she saw Roland, keeping his pace with his eyes staring at the ground beneath him.
“You’re not mad?”
“I told you, Twilight. I would not get mad and I keep to my words,” Roland explained.
“R-Right,” Twilight was afraid that she might have just offended her savior. “S-Sorry.”
“Apologies are not needed,” Roland responded.
“Do you have any more questions?”
“Yes, I do. However, I’m afraid we do not have time to go through them all. We’re reaching Gryphus.”
“H-How do you know that?” Twilight asked as the way in front of her still seemed to be filled with trees.
“I’m a traveller. I’ve walked down this very path thousands of times. In fact, it was probably I who created this very dirt path you see. It was a much better job than my former one.” “What was your former job?” Twilight asked, curious.
There was a moment of silence before Roland answered.
“A war medic. Now go, hide back in the wagon with your friends. As I’ve said, ponies are not welcomed in Gryphus. If they notice you, they will have your heads and mine.”
“B-But where are we supposed to go if ponies are hated in Gryphus!?”
“I’ll drop you off at the hospital. The hospital is empty, I assure you. And the griffins there would be more then happy to help both you and your friends, possibly providing shelter, food and water. Now quickly!” Roland hurried Twilight.
“The hospital is... empty?”
“There is no time to explain! Into the wagon! Now!” Roland’s commanding voice returned to him, shocking Twilight into teleporting directly in the wagon, entering the dark, enclosed room.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, her heart started to sink once more. Rainbow lay to her left, her mane had lost its orange color, leaving only the red to stand alone. Fluttershy was crying endlessly, her whimpers the only sound throughout the close walls of the wagon they were in as she leaned over her dying friend, tears falling onto her cyan coat.
Pinkie lay at the opposite side of the wagon of Rainbow, turning towards the wall. Rarity stood beside her, petting Pinkie’s mane and speaking no words. Applejack stood in front of Twilight, staring at the same scene she was. It was clear that the scene in front of both ponies tore at their hearts with each passing second.
Twilight trotted up to Fluttershy, nudging her and getting her attention. Twilight moved forward, slipping her hooves around the pegasus’s neck and pulling her tightly into a hug.
“We’re reaching Gryphus,” Twilight whispered into Fluttershy’s ear, “she’s going to be okay. I promise. But right now, I need you to keep quiet for a little while. Alright, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy gave a slow, heartbroken nod. Summoning all her strength, she bit down on the bottom of her lip, stifling any cries she wanted to emit.
The silence made it easy for Twilight to hear the enclosed wagon coming to a stop. The sound of more claws hitting dirt was also very audible. Then, Twilight heard a phrase that caused her heart to skip a beat.
“You know the drill, Roland! Open up your wagon!”
Twilight closed her eyes, praying that Roland would be able to find a way to coax them out of it.
“Now, guards. I doubt that’s nescessary. I’ve never smuggled any illegal goods in, what makes you think I would now?”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Roland. Open your wagon! It’s protocol!’
“Gentlecolts, how many years have I passed through these very gates?”
“T-Twenty years.”
“And for how many years have you checked my goods?”
“Twenty.”
“And how many illegal goods have you confiscated?”
“Z-Zero.”
“Now, I am in a rush. If you would kindly let me through once, after these twenty years, I would appreciate it.”
There was a tense moment with no words said. Twilight hugged Fluttershy tighter than ever, anxious to hear the next sentence. After a few more seconds, she finally heard the next sentence.
“Open the gates! Roland is coming into Gryphus!”
The defeaning sounds of large gates being opened filled the wagon and after that sound stopped, the sound of the wagon moving once again took over. This time, however, it was no longer the sound of wooden wheels on dirt. It was the sound of wooden wheels on stone floors.
Pinkie stared at the wooden wall of the wagon, her eyes closed shut and her mouth chanted the same few words over and over.
“Have to be happy. Promised Fluttershy. I have to be happy. I promised Fluttershy...”
Rarity could hear Pinkie’s soft voice. She wanted to voice out, tell Pinkie everything would be okay and calm her down, but she couldn’t even tell those words to herself. Rarity turned away from Pinkie, her eyes sealed shut as she desperately tried to push Pinkie’s words out of her head.
Everything will be alright. Everything will be fine. Rarity tried to tell herself in her mind, though it was obvious it was no use. She wanted to wake up, in her Boutique with the sun shining on her. She wanted to hear Sweetie Belle’s voice and the smell of fresh cookies and cakes coming out of Sugercube Corner. However, the sound of the wagon’s wooden wheels rolling on hard stone floors always brought her back to reality.
All the while, Twilight held Fluttershy as tightly as possible. Fluttershy’s tears wouldn’t stop flowing, Twilight could feel them drip onto her coat and with each tear that fell, it seemed to transfer the sadness over to the purple unicorn. Her eyes started to water too, but she quickly shook it off.
He has to stop soon, we’re already in Gryphus. Twilight thought to herself. Time moved slowly for everypony in the wagon, what seemed like minutes were only seconds.
Applejack watched Twilight and Fluttershy hug in the middle of the small enclosure. She leaned down towards the injured mare, who would have been assumed dead by most if not for the remaining colors in her mane. Applejack brought one hoof down to Rainbow’s fading mane, sweeping away stray strands that fell across her face. She did it slowly, as if feeling pain with each strand of the mane she pushed back up, revealing her wounded and near lifeless face.
“It’ll be alright, Rainbow. Ah p-pr-pro...” Applejack couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence, tears streaming down her face.
The cart jerked violently, startling everypony in it as it eventually slowed to a stop. The echos of claws hitting stone could be heard just outside the walls of the wagon. Twilight assumed it was Roland, but she had no way to be sure. For a few seconds, there was silence when all of a sudden, the back of the cart flew open with a loud noise and immediately, two claws reached in and grasped Rarity and Pinkie into the open.
“Pinkie!? R-Rarity!?” Applejack yelled out but was quickly silenced by a claw reaching in and grabbing her muzzle, forcing it shut. Another claw reached from the darkness and grasped Fluttershy before pulling both of them away.
Twilight sat, alone with the shivering Rainbow Dash. She wanted to scream as loud as she could, crying for help for somepony to save them, yet, something inside her kept her mouth shut. She felt...safe. She couldn’t explain it, neither could she place her hoof on where it came from, but she simply knew not to scream. All of a sudden, a voice whispered into the cart.
“Twilight Sparkle, bring your friend out now!” Twilight immediately scrambled to lift Rainbow on her back, hearing only soft whimpers, like that of a dying pet. She trotted cautiously to the back of the cart, her eyes unadjusted to the pitch black darkness that laid a few feets away from her. She could make out an outline of a-
*Fwosh*
Twilight felt the cold hard talons of a griffin before being snatched out. Upon landing on the cold, harsh stone floor of Gryphus, she looked up to see Roland, a slightly panicked expression on his face.
“Twilight Sparkle. In!” He quickly gestured towards the entrance to some building, guarded only by a thick wooden door which she laid in front of.
Twilight rose to her hooves, immediately noticing something was missing. She turned her head back.
“Rainbow!?” Looking up, she saw that Roland had caught Rainbow softly as he dragged Twilight out, holding her as light as he could with his claws, making sure to grip her with the flesh in between his talons. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as Roland lifted the pegasus onto Twilight’s back and motioning her to get inside.
As Twilight trotted into the odd building, the first thing that caught her eyes was that the walls on the inside were made entirely of a dark brown shade of wood. The floors were of a much lighter-brown, but it was still wood which creaked with each step Twilight took. Inside sat a few chairs around a table and in the middle of the room, sat a counter but with nopony attending to it. Small oil lamps lit the building, casting dancing shadows on the worn wooden walls.
Sitting on the chairs were the other ponies. Fluttershy held Pinkie in her hooves, a soft smile on both of their faces as they sat, completely unaware of Twilight’s presence. Rarity and Applejack, however, much more alert. From the very first creak of the wooden plank, Applejack shot her head upwards, staring in horror as Twilight trotted in with Rainbow. Immediately, she jumped off the chair and raced towards the unicorn.
“T-Twilight!” Applejack gave a look of pure horror and concern towards her friend. Twilight smiled knowingly and, using a portion of her waning energy, levitated Rainbow onto Applejack’s back.
Applejack smiled for a short while, her heart resting a little easier, knowing she could be beside her dear friend.
Almost immediately after, Rarity lifted her hoof over Twilight’s shoulder, who wasn’t even aware Rarity had moved from her spot.
“We’ll get through this, Twilight. Together,” Rarity assured.
Twilight could only nod in return, realizing how much energy she had used over the past three days. She was close to falling down and fainting, but kept up, knowing that if that were to happen, it would only cause more worries for the friends she held so dear.
Not long after, the sound of sharp talons hitting wood resonated behind Twilight, who spun around, staring at the griffin that had led them here as Rarity and Applejack trotted back to their seats.
“Roland, what is this place?”
Roland gave an odd look, one of disbelief.
“I... assumed they had hospitals back in Equestria... was I mistaken?”
A hospital. Twilight’s eyes widened as she gave one more look to the area around her.
“Are you sure this is a hospital? Why is it so... empty?” Twilight asked.
“That is not important. Ponies aren’t allowed in Gryphus as I think you’ve figured out. Most griffins would expose you in a second.”
Twilight’s heart started racing. She threw her sight back on her friends, who were still innocently tending to each other, oblivious to what Roland had just said.
“N-No... We have a permit! We have permissi-” Twilight’s yelling was cut short but Roland’s forceful grip on her muzzle.
“Permission means nothing here. Whoever sent you on this ‘mission’ has just sent you into a death trap, whether they might know it or not. Now listen close, Twilight Sparkle, I said ‘most’ as this hospital contains the only three understanding griffin that remain in Gryphus. I know this is a lot to ask from you, to trust three griffins whom you have never seen before. But I need you to trust me if we are to save your friends. Do you understand?”
Twilight trembled with fear the more Roland spoke, but turning once more back to Rainbow, she gave a soft nod. Immediately, Roland released his grip on Twilight, who fell to the ground, shaking.
“My apologies.” Roland walked towards the counter, ringing the bell. After a few seconds, a griffin appeared and immediately, Twilight could tell it was a female. The griffin had pink pupils, and her feathers were all very neat, perfectly groomed so as to look as presentable as possible. As she laid eyes on the ponies in her lobby, a look of horror washed over her face. Roland then started to whisper something towards the griffin, who muttered something back in return. Their voices were too quiet for Twilight to hear or make out, she could only watch with a nervous mind as the griffin retreated back from where she came.
Roland walked back to the nervously waiting unicorn.
“S-So? How’d it...?”
“They’ll provide all of you with shelter, food, water and medication,” Roland answered calmly, as if he expected no other result. Twilight couldn’t help but let tears flow down her cheeks. This was the first, and only, good news she had heard since they arrived in Gryphus.
“T-Thank you so much, Roland. I just- I can’t- She’ll be okay. Rainbow’ll be okay,” Twilight chanted to herself, acting as if the words had some sort of mystical power, healing her broken mental state.
Roland gave a solid nod of his head before trotting towards the door.
Roland shook his head lightly. “I’m sorry, Twilight Sparkle. But this is where we must part ways,” he calmly said before turning back to the wooden door, inches away from him. “Stay here in this hospital and keep a low profile. Do whatever it is you need to do in this town and get out. That’s my recommendation.”
“Roland. I owe you so much.” Twilight said with tear-filled eyes. Roland, however, didn’t respond. Instead, he allowed the silence to hang for a while, a frown on his face. Only after had a minute passed then did he speak again.
“You owe me nothing,” he said in a commanding tone but in a much softer tone, he continued. “We’re even.”
Twilight was perplexed. “Even? But I haven’t done anything for you.”
Roland gave a short snicker, a smile on his face as he spoke once more. “I wasn’t talking to you, Miss Sparkle.” With those words, he trotted out the door, slamming it shut. Twilight and her friends were left in the hospital, a quiet and confused atmosphere hanging around them.
“Excuse me, Miss Sparkle?” a soft voice called out from behind her. Twilight turned around to see the same griffin that was at the counter minutes ago.
“Y-Yes, that’s me,” Twilight responded.
“Well, I need to-”
Before the griffin was able to finish her sentence, Applejack’s booming voice echoed through the hospital.
“Twilight! R-Rainbow!!”
Both the griffin and Twilight turned to see Rainbow’s last color finally fading away. The nurse leapt forward, forcefully grasping Rainbow away from Applejack.
“What in tarnation do ya think you’re doin!?” Applejack angrily shouted back, preparing her hooves to buck the griffin across the hall, but Rarity and Twilight’s magic restrained her.
The griffin whispered something under her breath before flying down the small hallway, which had many doors along it, grasping Rainbow in her claws.
“S-Stop her! She’s ponynapping Rainbow! Rainbow’s in trouble!” Applejack struggled harder. “Let go of me!”
Twilight and Rarity didn’t let up, tightening the spell harder, freezing Applejack in place.
“Applejack, you need to trust her,” Twilight tried her best to convince the struggling earth pony.
“Ah ain’t trusting no griffin with Rainbow! She needs me!”
“Applejack, please. I know its hard, but you need to calm down. The only creature here, griffin or pony, that can help Rainbow is the staff in this hospital. Please, AJ, calm down!”
“Twilight’s right my dear, her injuries are absolutely horrid and we don’t have the skills, nor the resources, to deal with such injuries!” Rarity added.
Applejack’s tears could clearly be seen glistening under the lantern’s soft light.
“B-But...”
“Please AJ,” Twilight pleaded once again. “Trust.”
Applejack turned her head towards Twilight, staring into her pleading eyes. She slowly relaxed her limbs and allowed Twilight and Rarity to release her from their magic’s grasp. Applejack trotted sorrowfully to a corner of the hospital, her sobs could be clearly heard, though her face was hidden was everypony’s view.
“Twilight Sparkle, is that right?” another voice crept up from behind her. This time, however, the voice was deep and it was clearly male. Twilight spun around once more and in front of her, stood a fairly large griffin, donning a doctor’s coat and a pair of glasses.
“Y-Yes. That’s right.”
“I see. And these are your friends?”
“Yes...” Twilight answered nervously. She knew she should be trusting them, but after her previous experiences with griffins, she found that that was no easy task.
“Well, let me be brief. I need to do a very detailed check-up on you and your friends. If you would please follow me.” The griffin trotted off, not waiting for a response.
Everypony looked at Twilight, who gave a swift nod before following the griffin into one of the doors along the corridor. Upon opening the door, Twilight could see that it was a small ward, containing precisely six beds, three on the left and three on the right. Each bed had a pillow and a light green blanket. At the back of the room were the windows, which were understandably closed and curtained. It looked like any other hospital Twilight had been to in Equestria, except less advanced.
“Please take a bed each, I shall attend to each of you shortly.” the doctor spoke before exiting the room.
Everypony was nervous. They wanted to trust the griffin, but found it hard to do so without suspecting something. Fluttershy lifted and placed Pinkie in a bed on the left, near the exit, before getting into one next to the perky pink pony. Rarity gestured to Applejack, who was dragging her hooves with her head held low, to the bed next to the one the white unicorn laid in. Twilight chose the bed nearest to the windows, all the way at the end on the right, next to Fluttershy.
As soon as Twilight’s head touched the pillow, she immediately felt inclined to drift off into sleep, the days of exhaustion wearing on her body. However, the voice of the doctor brought her back sharply.
“Miss Sparkle. I’ll be starting with you. Would you please lay straight and try not to move,” the doctor ordered. Twilight obeyed, laying as straight as plank as the griffin raised his claw and lightly placed a talon on Twilight’s chest.
Silence.
Twilight felt the cold, sharp talon on her chest, over her heat. She knew that one small force would end her immediately, taking her life in a blink of an eye.
The griffin stood with his talon over Twilight’s heart, his eyes closed. Everypony stared intently at the two, all preparing to pounce if the griffin were to do anything to their friend.
Only after a few tense minutes did the griffin remove his talon, allowing Twilight to release the breath she had been holding in for the whole while.
“Do you have any major injuries I should know about?” the doctor asked.
“No, I was lucky.” Twilight replied.
“Good. Then you are suffering from major exhaustion, dehydration and minor starvation. I’ll bring in some food and water for all of you after I’m done inspecting all of you. After that, get some much needed rest. Roland told me that you five-”
“Six. Doctor, there are six of us,” Twilight corrected, slightly angered and worried.
“My apologies. Roland told me that you six have been through a lot. I assure you that we’ll try our best to keep you safe. Now, I’ll be moving on to you.” The griffin turned to Rarity.
“Wait!” Twilight shouted. “What’s your name?”
“Milov. That’s my last name. Call me Doctor Milov.”
“Thank you, Doctor Milov. And... h-how’s Rainbow?” Twilight was afraid to ask, for she was afraid of the answer.
“She’s undergoing an operation currently. We’ll do our best to save her, you have my word. But having such lethal injuries for such a long period of time...No offence but she shouldn’t even be alive.”
“Wha-How can ya say that!?” Applejack yelled as loud as she could. “She’s a strong pony! She’ll make it! Ah know she will!”
“I apologize. I was merely saying what I thought.”
Applejack was fuming as she stared at Milov. “Just get back to ya work,” she bitterly said, turning to face the entrance, away from Rarity and the doctor.
“I’ll begin on you. Please don’t move miss...?”
“Rarity,” she quickly answered.
“Miss Rarity. Please stay still as I perform the inspection.”
Milov did the same maneuver, lifting up his claw and placing a talon on Rarity’s chest, feeling each pulse and each heartbeat. A few minutes later, he removed the talon and gave the same diagnostic.
“You have the same condition as Miss Sparkle, Miss Rarity. Dehydration and serious exhaustion. Though it appears you need a lot more treatment for the various cuts on your body. The cuts weren’t deep, but there are quite a number of them. I shall apply some medication after my inspections.” Milov walked to Applejack, who was still facing the wall.
“Excuse me, Miss...?”
Applejack kept quiet.
“Applejack, please let him see what’s wrong with you. They’re trying to save Rainbow, she’ll be alright.”
Applejack didn’t budge for a few seconds, but eventually, she reluctantly turned around to see the doctor, exposing the long cut on her face. Milov didn’t react, only staring at the cut.
“That cut used to be deep, but it has healed itself fairly well. It appears to have been, correct me if I am wrong, magically healed? For the wound still seems to be fresh, but the cut tells me otherwise.”
Applejack nodded, barely, though Milov’s quick eye caught it.
“Very well. I’ll get some medication and-”
“Ah don’t need no medication!” Applejack stubbornly refused. “Back when Ah was on the farm, when Big Mac, Apple Bloom or Ah got hurt, we would still do all our chores! Ah don’t need no stinkin help!” Applejack turned back to the wall, her heavy breathing apparent to the whole room.
“I... I’m sorry, Miss Applejack. I was merely trying to help,” Milov apologized.
“Well then go help somepony else! Like Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie! Because Ah don’t need your help!” Applejack firmly stated, pulling the blanket up to her head. Milov could only ignore her and walk towards the two remaining ponies.
Milov recoiled a little. This pony was... smiling.
“Is she usually like this?” Milov questioned.
“Oh yes. It’s very Pinkie of her to smile in any situation.” Fluttershy replied with a smile of her own. “It’s quite infectious.”
“So, doctor! I got a really painful injury you should probably know!” Pinkie joyfully exclaimed.
“Umm...s-sure. I suppose so.” Milov wasn’t sure how to respond to such a comment.
Pinkie turned to show the huge burn on her flank to the doctor, who reeled upon seeing the wound.
“T-That’s quite a burn, Miss Pinkie.” Milov stared at the injury for quite some time. “Miss Pinkie, would you let me see your hooves?”
“Sure, doc!” Pinkie lifted her hooves towards Milov, who gave a quick glance before lifting up his head.
“Just as I thought...Third degree burn marks, charring on hooves, black strike lines. You were struck by lightning, weren’t you Miss Pinkie?”
Pinkie gave a large gasp before talking. “Oooo! You’re good!”
“But there’s a problem. Roland told me he found you in the forests, and the trees there are large enough to direct all the lightning away. For you to be struck by lightning, it had to be struck on you on purpose. And since, from what I’ve read, pegasus are the only other creatures beside griffins that can modify the weather. That means that either Miss Fluttershy struck you with lightning-”
“She didn’t!” Pinkie’s tone suddenly turned defensive.
“That means that... a griffin did this to you. Am I right, Miss Pinkie?”
Pinkie didn’t reply, her smile vanished.
“Miss Pinkie, who did this to you?”
“Doc, would you mind just healing my wound?” “But I need to-” Milov tried to force it out, but was interrupted by the pony across the room.
“We’ll tell you another time, Doctor Milov. But for now, would you please tend to our injuries? We’re exhausted,” Twilight reasoned, to which Milov agreed.
“Very well. I’ll get some medication, like the others.” Milov turned his attention to Fluttershy. “And you, dear? Any outstanding injuries I should be made aware of?”
“No, Doctor. I’m fine. Just tired, thirsty and very hungry,” Fluttershy replied weakly.
“Ah, I see. Well then, I’ll be right back,” Milov said as he left the ward.
About ten minutes later, Milov returned to the ward with a small cart filled with sweets, hot chocolate and several bottles of medicine. Milov wheeled the cart up to each pony, passing them several sweets and a cup of the hot cocoa.
“Each and drink up, then get some rest. I’ll be attending to those that need treatment.” Milov wheeled the cart up to Rarity. “Miss Rarity, this might sting a little from the amount of cuts you have, but I assure you that it will feel much better once the medicine sets in. Ready?”
“Yes, whenever you are.”
Milov picked up a small blue bottle. Twisting the cap open, he tilted it and poured out the thick yellow liquid on several cotton patches. Lifting up those patches, he placed it on the various cuts on Rarity’s body. Rarity winced and groaned painfully with each patch that was applied and as the medicine sank it, it only felt more and more piercing. However, after what seemed like hours, Rarity finally felt the soothing feeling of the liquid take effect, quickly sending her into a comfortable slumber as her eyes closed shut and her consciousness faded away.
Milov wheeled his cart towards Pinkie, who was still sitting with her injury for all to see.
“Now, Miss Pinkie. This will hurt a lot, but it’s an important step in making sure the wound is not infected. And if it already is, to stop and kill the infection. I suggest you grab on to something.”
Pinkie turned her attention to Fluttershy. Fluttershy didn’t even have to think twice before gripping Pinkie’s hoof and grasping it tightly.
“I’m right here, Pinkie. Don’t worry, alright?”
“Are you ready, Miss Pinkie?”
“Yuppy Duppy! Just tell me when it’s about to hurt!”
Milov poured a thin, watery, green liquid onto a small cotton patch. Lifting it inches away from Pinkie’s wound.
“Alright. In three,” Milov started counting down. “Two, One...”
As soon as the cold patch hit Pinkie’s injury, Pinkie released a stifled scream, tightly squeezing Fluttershy’s hoof. Her face twisted in pain as it felt like a giant needle was shooting up her entire being. The pain she felt was immeasurable. The only thing stopping her from outright yelling at the top of her lungs was the thought of Fluttershy laying near to her.
Fluttershy was on the verge of breaking, seeing her usually happy friend be reduced to a whimpering pony broke her heart the more she saw it. Pinkie’s grip got tighter and tighter, and it hurt Fluttershy, but she wouldn’t let go, not if she was the only source of comfort for her dear friend.
After a few agonizing minutes, the pain started to rapidly subside, letting Pinkie pant to catch her breath. Staring up at the shivering Fluttershy, Pinkie forced out a smile.
“See! Ain’t-ugh-Ain’t nothing to it!” Pinkie tried her best to ignore the pain, though less, still a lot more than she was used to.
“Well, I suggest you all get some sleep. Stay up anymore and your health will only deteriorate. Sleep for as long as you need. From what I’ve seen, you’ve all earned it.” Milov moved towards the various lamps in the room, pinching them all off, leaving the only lamp that was lit, the one near the doorway.
“Thanks again, Doctor Milov,” Twilight was sincerely grateful.
“It’s of no trouble. I will update all of you on the condition of your friend. Now if you excuse me, I need to make sure the operation is going as best as it can go.” Trotting towards the doorway, he leaned closer to the lamp.
“Get some well earned rest, all of you. Sweet Dreams.” With that, he bit off the latern, drenching the room in pitch black darkness.
Twilight laid back on the pillow. Even though her heart was still heavy, it felt good to know that they had finally reached their destination, and that their mission may now finally begin.
Twilight’s eyes slowly fluttered open, blinded for a few seconds from the intense sunlight that shot through the window to her right. As her vision adjusted, she pushed herself slightly off the bed, feeling a sharp pain in her right chest. Quickly, she stopped her movement, ending up in a sitting position as her eyes scanned across the room.
Every other pony was still sound asleep in their beds, bandages wrapped around Pinkie’s hoof and some were present on the other ponies as well. It was obvious that they had a lot of wounds to recover from, and not just physical ones as well.
“Morning, Twilight Sparkle.” A deep voice echoed through the room as Twilight turned towards the door. Milov stood firm and upright, pushing in a tray of fresh treats and hot drinks.
“M-morning, Milov,” Twilight greeted.
Milov raised his talons, wrapping it lightly around the handle of a tea-filled cup and passing it over to the unicorn. “Careful, it’s hot.”
Twilight nodded before levitating the cup to her mouth, recoiling back a bit at the temperature of the liquid. Milov chuckled softly, pouring tea into the other four cups.
“I told you.”
Twilight’s mouth grew into an embarrassed smile, sipping more of the tea.
“H-how are my friends?”
As if on cue, the rest of the ponies had started to stir. All of them groaning slowly as they shifted in their beds.
“Why don’t you ask them?” Milov answered with a kind smile, passing every other pony a cup of tea.
Twilight’s eyebrows furrowed as she scanned her eyes to each bed.
Fluttershy... Applejack... Pinkie... Rarity and... Twilight’s eyes shot open wide.
“Milov!” Twilight shouted. “Where’s Rainb-”
Twilight’s shouting was quickly cut short as Milov’s talons forced her muzzle shut.
“Rainbow Dash is currently in intensive care, please keep your volume down. Lest you want all of us to get discovered. Clear?”
Twilight answered with several hard nods.
“Good.” Milov’s talons released Twilight from their grip as he passed a plate of treats to each pony.
“I need to see Rainbow now!” Fluttershy demanded.
“Ah do too, Doc!” Applejack agreed.
“We need to make sure Dashie is okay!” Pinkie added.
“Absolutely,” Rarity concurred.
“I understand all of your concerns and you will get to see your friend. However, as for now, please just eat and drink up. You’ve all been starved and you’re gonna need as much health as you all can get.”
“B-but Rainbow...,” Fluttershy’s eyes started to well with tears as she spoke. Pinkie wasted no time, zipping over to her friend and giving her a tight hug.
“It’ll be okay, Flutters! Dashie’s strong! She’ll hold on! Now eat up!” Pinkie lifted a biscuit towards Fluttershy’s mouth.
“Twilight Sparkle, I do have to ask though... What in Gryphus are you five—”
“Six. There are six of us,” Applejack firmly stated.
“Six of you doing here!?” Milov questioned.
“We... It’s a secret,” Twilight responded.
Milov reached over to the now empty plates of each pony, taking them back and placing them on the tray. With a tired sigh, he asked, “it’s about the war, isn’t it?”
All of them had a shocked expression on their faces. “How did you—”
“The King has been promoting it. Telling us how its the only way left and how... how we have to get ready for the worse to come.”
Eerie silence filled the room. “King Trela is a smart man and not so easily swayed. He especially will not tolerate any ponies in his kingdom, much less meet with them.”
“Then how can we get an audience?” Twilight asked.
Everypony spotted a smile on Milov’s face. Not just a smile but a... smirk. A cunning expression they had never seen before, and were quite worried about what it meant.
“When you have rested enough, come to the ward at the end of the hallway to the right. That’s Rainbow’s ward. I shall see you all there.”
Milov walked out of the ward, leaving a thick atmosphere in the room as the other ponies stared at each other. They were silent, but they’re gazes were not.
Everypony stood outside of Rainbow’s ward, staring at the pegasus through a glass window. Rainbow was wrapped up tightly in bandages. Syringes and wires ran throughout her body. It was clear she wasn’t conscious and they weren’t even sure if she was alive. The longer everypony stared, the more they felt their hearts fall apart. Fluttershy was the first to lose her composure, diving her tearing eyes into Pinkie’s coat. Her sobs weren’t muffled or hidden. She had nothing left to hide. Applejack followed quickly, tilting her hat down over her face to cover up her obvious tears as they flowed down her face onto the flow below.
Rarity lifted a hoof up to her eye, lightly flicking away a tear. Pinkie simply stared down at the floor, hugging Fluttershy tightly, knowing that she was the only solace for the pegasus. Twilight, too, took a deep breath, her composure on the verge of shattering.
“We’re doing everything in our power to save her, but that’s no promise that we can.”
“I... I understand,” Twilight answered with a heavy heart, her breaths short and stuttered.
“Now, are you all up to continue your journey?”
Fluttershy pushed herself off of Pinkie’s coat before nodding.
“We’ll do this for Dash.”
“This King has caused nothing but pain. And that General. Both are nothing but ruffians.”
“Ah’ll kill them griffons that did this to Rainbow!”
“And the only party I’ll show them is the party of pain!”
“Milov, we’re ready,” Twilight confirmed with the others.
“Good. Now follow me.” Milov walked away slowly, the others following close.
He went deeper and deeper into the doctors, taking several turns before stopping outside a small room with a sign hanging on the door. The sign had the words “WORK IN PROGRESS” written crudely with red ink on it.
Milov pushed open the door slowly, revealing a much younger gryphon sitting in front of a small work bench, the sound of screws being tightened resonated throughout the room.
“Dovan, we have guests,” Milov spoke to the young gryphon. The gryphon immediately swung around in his small chair.
“H-huh!? Milov, you brought ponies!? Are you crazy!?”
“Dovan. Relax. They’re here to help.”
“Help? In what?”
“....The war.”
Dovan’s frown quickly morphed into a smile.
“Are you sure they can be trusted, Milov?”
“With all my heart, Dovan. I promise they can be trusted.”
“But can we trust you?” Twilight spoke up, staring at the gryphon.
“Well now, we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” The gryphon replied, swinging back around in his chair to return to his tinkering.
“Dovan here can be a little... spontaneous, but I promise you he is one of the most intelligent gryphons you will ever find.”
“Whoa now,” Dovan didn’t bat an eyelid, picking up a smaller wrench with his tail. “Was that a compliment?”
“Well, don’t get used to it,” Milov teased, getting a laugh from both as he walked out of the door, leaving the five ponies standing slightly confused in the room.
“W-well then... let’s introduce ourselves! My name is Twilight Sparkle!”
Dovan didn’t say a word.
“A-and Ah’m Applejack!”
He didn’t budge.
“And I’m Pinkie Pie!”
Not a mutter.
“Dovan!” Twilight shouted, stomping her hoof. “We’re trying to introduce ourselves here! The least you could do is to acknowledge us! I mean, if we’re trying to get an audience with the king and you won’t—”
“You want an audience with the king?” Dovan finally spoke up, an unseen grin on his face.
“Y-yes,” Fluttershy was the first to answer.
“Well then, if you want an audience with the king.” Dovan spun around in his chair, revealing a small silver pencil-like device in his talon. “The king has to be your audience first.”
With a press of the button, the device whirled to life. Spinning and clicking rapidly in many places before stopping. Twilight stared at the device, noticing no change in shape despite all the movement.
